Astro: Boy of the Stars
by Astro-xXx-Boy
Summary: Toby is just your ordinary kid...well, not really! He's the smartest out of everyone in his school, and he gets bullied because of it! Some day's you just gotta let go, right? WRONG! After a freak accident on the highway, Toby is killed! ...Or is he? Rated T for safety.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** Hey, guys! This is a new story that I decided to put up. Let me tell you the blurb of it. My friend on dA posted this story on her profile, and I asked her to put it on FFN! She's not allowed on FFN anymore, so she allowed me to do it, as long as I gave her credit for it. Her name, you ask? It's Starwarrior4ever! Anyway, she hopes you enjoy this story, and she certainly does love reviews! So have at it!

* * *

**Prologue**

Sometimes life isn't what you expected it to be. Sometimes, things happen, for better or for worse, and there isn't anything you can do about it. Sometimes the exact opposite of what you wished for comes true, and you have to deal with it for the rest of your life, wanting to go back and change what happened…

But sometimes good things happen, too. But that one good thing caused so many bad things to happen...and you wish that the good thing never came to you in the first place, so that the bad things never would have happened.

That's the story I want to talk about. The story of a 13-year-old kid with the I.Q. of Einstein. The story of how something good happened to him, but then so many bad things came about because of it. A rather typical story, if you think about it.

But this is my story, and I'm telling it because you need to know the truth about me...of who I am, what I can do... And what I've done. But first you need to know my name...

My name is Toby... But most people know me as Astro.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, I know it was a short prologue, but it gives you a little info on the story, no? No? Oh, well. Anyway XD leave reviews, faves, and follows! She appreciates them! The first chapter will be up later today, so be on the lookout!


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Wellllp! Here's chapter 1, like I promised! She releases a new chapter every day, like clockwork! Pretty neat huh? Which means chapter 2, if I feel up to it or if I have nothing else to do, will update with chapter 2 tonight. If not, then I'll do it tomorrow. Anyway! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Do you ever get that feeling that when you wake up, you know whether that day is going to be a good day? Or a bad day? And when the day plays out, it's exactly how you thought it was going to be when you woke up that morning?

Well, when I woke up that Monday morning, I thought for sure that day was going to be bad. It was a strong feeling in my gut, but I thought, _Well, it's a Monday, so of _course_ it's going to be bad!_

So I thought nothing more of the feeling, but rather focused more on the dread of getting on the bus that took me to Metropolis High School For Gifted Students. I slowly got ready for school, ate a bite of my toast that my house-bot had made for me that day - I only ever eat that much in the mornings - and walked out the front door to the sidewalk to wait for the school bus.

Of _course_ it had to be raining.

I grabbed the hood of my jacket and jerked it over my gelled hair, glaring at the dark gray clouds above me. Thunder rumbled in the sky, making it seem as if the clouds were laughing at the city below saying, 'Haha, you're getting wet! I love it when you get wet!' Or something to that effect.

The school bus finally pulled up in front of me, and I climbed in, ignoring the looks and jeers everyone gave me as I walked to the back and took my seat next to the window. If I had lived closer to the school, instead of living at least a mile from it, I would have walked instead of riding this bus full of rich, snobby tyrants, all of which who's goals in life seemed to be making mine miserable. It didn't matter if your dad was an important scientist, or if your family was just as rich as everyone else's in the school. What mattered was how smart you were, and I'm not bragging when I say I was the smartest. And the youngest. Yup, the whole bus was full to the brim with 15- to 17-year-old's, all of which who seemed to hate the sight of me, who had only just turned 13 around a month ago. I guess they just didn't like anyone younger than them getting way better grades and showing them up at math… My mom liked to call me her 'Little Einstein,' but everyone else...

"Oi! Baby!" a jeering voice called to me. "You look tired! Did someone wake you up too early from your nap?"

"He probably needed his diaper changed," another one snickered. "Is that it, Baby? Was your diaper full?"

I calmly dug out my ear buds and placed them in my ears, only to have them ripped out again.

"Whatcha listening to, Baby?" A tall, good-looking senior student stood over me, holding my iPod in his sporty hands. "Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star?"

The bus erupted into fits of laughter. I glared at the teen standing over me, and silently counted to ten. "Could you please give me my iPod back?" I asked quietly, glancing at my knees.

"Aw, the Baby has learned his manners!" the teen cracked, making the other students in the bus laugh again. "He's learned to say _please."_

"Just—give it, alright?" I could feel my temper rising as I held out my hand for my iPod. The teen, held the iPod out of reach.

"Not unless you do something for me," he leered. I scowled at him and lowered my arm, crossing them instead.

"Okay, fine. What?" I asked smoothly.

"My math homework. I forgot to do it last night, so you're going to give me the answers to it." He gave another smug grin. I stared coolly at him for a few moments.

"Forget it," I finally said. "I don't need my iPod anyway. Go ahead and get an 'F' in math because you didn't finish your test, and listen to my baby music and see if I care."

The bus went deadly quiet as the senior froze, giving me a deathly scowl. "What did you say?"

I looked at the teen right in the eye, stubborn as I could make myself look. "I. Said. No." I uncrossed my arms, "And since when did seniors ask help from a baby like me?"

"Oooohh," a red-headed girl near us giggled. "The kid's got you there, Drake."

Drake gave me another hard stare and tossed my iPod back into my lap. "Next time, Baby," he muttered. "I'll get you for that next time."

"Ooh, I'm so _scared,_ I think I _wet_ myself," I said sarcastically, but inside I was whooping in joy. I had _finally_ owned one of them! _Big_ time! Well, maybe not _big_ time, but enough to make them leave me alone.

For now.

* * *

_BRIIIIIINNNG!_

I was the first one out of the door to my science class and into the hallway, ready for some lunch at last. I didn't understand the 'bad' feeling I'd had this morning anymore, because, well, obviously whole 'owning' thing that had happened in the bus was definitely a good thing, and I'd just received top marks in all my classes that day so far...

Of course, when did I ever _not_ get top marks?

I shook that feeling aside again, and walked to my locker, opening it and stuffing my chemistry books inside it.

"Hi!"

I heard a girl's voice behind me, but, like every other day when I hear some people say things like that, I just assumed whoever it was was talking to someone else. I dug around my locker for my iPod, frowning. I thought I left it in here... Ah!

"I like your hair," I heard the voice continue at the same speed. "It reminds me of dragons! Though I think one of your spikes is a little lopsided, but that's okay, it's cute."

I froze, blinking in confusion, before turning around to face a girl with two black braids on either side of her head, who was staring at me with large green eyes, which seemed even larger through her purple-rimmed spectacles.

"Uh..." I mumbled in confusion. "You talking to me?"

"Well, duh, who else would I be talking to?" The girl gave a wide smile, her face full of braces. "There aren't many others who have cute spikes like that, now are there?"

"Uh...I guess not..." I timidly raised my hand to my hair. "I-I mean, uh, thank you? You think it's...uh, cute?" I fumbled with my words, a little in shock that someone was talking to me without making fun of me for once.

"Yeah, but if you don't like me saying it's cute, then I think it's cool, 'cause I think dragons are cool, and I'm a big fan of dragons!" the girl said, talking rather fast. "In fact, I have a robot dragon, but he's not anything special, he's just a remote controlled robot, but I wish I had a more advanced one, you know what I mean? 'Cause the more advanced ones are so much cooler - like your hair - and don't have to be remote controlled, and they play with you as a pet, but I'm talking about robot dogs right now. I don't think they have robot dragons that do that kind of stuff, you know what I mean? But I can't show you my robot right know because it got confiscated this morning when I accidentally bumped it into the Principal's window, and I can't have it back for a while, so yeah."

I had to take a moment to process what she had just said, blinking a few times. "Uh, yeah, I mean...I don't—"

"Oh, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself!" The girl held out her hand, and without stopping, she went on. "I'm Betty Bertrand, I'm 15-and-a-half years old, even though I look younger, I love cats and dogs and dragons and robots, and I would love it if we became friends!"

How she said all that in one breath, I'll never know. I slowly reached my hand out and shook. "Um, Toby. My name's Toby," I said. Betty's eyes lit up.

"Hi, Toby! Um, Toby what? Mackenzie, Macintosh, Roosevelt, Washington, what?"

"Tenma."

"Oh, Tenma, that's a nice—wait, _TENMA?_ As in, William Tenma, father of all modern robotics and weaponry? You're his _son?"_

"Um, yeah...?"

Betty gave a squeal of delight. "I can't believe I'm best friends with the son of a _genius!"_ She hopped up and down in excitement. "How old are you?"

"Er, I'm 13," I said. "Did you say, uh, best friends?"

"13? Wow, you're super young then, and here I was thinking you were just short but no. But that doesn't surprise me, since you probably inherited your I.Q. from your dad or something." Betty's face gave another wide grin. "And of course we can be best friends! Why not?" Her eyes suddenly got wide, "Oh...oh, you mean you _don't_ want to be? Oh, I'm sorry, it's just I don't have any, since I'm new here, and I...I..."

"No, that's not what I meant," I quickly cut in. "I mean I don't have any friends either, so it would be great if we were friends!"

Betty's eyes seemed to turn into fireworks. "Really?" she squealed.

I gave her a nice grin. "Really."

* * *

The rest of the school day consisted of Betty following me around, talking nonstop and ranging between topics, unless we had different classes. First she was going on about her large family, and about how she and her 12-year-old sister, Cora, were like complete opposites. "You and her would get along _super_ well, since you both don't talk very much," Betty said between bites of her pizza. "And she's turning 13 pretty soon, too!" And then, when it was time to get back on the bus to go home, she'd somehow changed the subject all the way to top secret military stuff, and how she had heard rumors of genetically enhanced super-soldiers being a project the government was working on.

"What do you think?" she asked, as we walked out of the school.

I shrugged. "I haven't heard anything about that myself, but it would be cool if you were genetically enhanced," I mused. "To have special powers..."

"What would you do if _you_ had superpowers?" Betty asked brightly, changing the subject once again.

I shrugged. "I don't know...save the world, I guess," I said lamely. "I mean, what else would I do?"

"Oh, I don't know, I think I would also save the world," Betty said, cocking her head. "But I would also use them to cheer up my friends if they were sad, like do silly tricks on the ceiling, or grow pretty flowers, or use them to stop all sorts of bullying in the world - but that would kinda be saving the world, though, right? I don't know, but I think it would be fun to have superpowers at least." Her face got all dreamy as she looked up at the cloudy sky, which had only just stopped raining. "It would be nice to fly..." she sighed. "To be free from the ground, to be like a bird... I've had dreams where I could fly. How about you? Do _you_ think it would be cool to fly?"

Before I could answer her question, though, a hand grabbed my shoulder.

It was Drake.

"Think you got off easy, Tenma?" he growled. "Did you?" He grabbed my arm and yanked me away from the throng of students, and away from Betty.

"Ow, what—? Oi, where're you taking me?" I yelled, trying to pull away from his grasp.

"Somewhere you don't want to go," Drake grinned, and threw me to the ground. Arms grabbed me, forcing me to bend over.

"Hey, what's the big idea—?" A fist collided with my stomach, shutting me up with a gasp of pain.

"First off, no talking." Drake sneered. "Second, you're going to do what I say, or I'll have Dash and Jake here turn you into a pulp."

I looked up at Drake with steely eyes. "If this is about earlier to day at the bus, then—" One of Drake's cronies punched me in the jaw, which nearly blinded me with pain.

"I _said_ no talking," said Drake. "And no, this isn't just for the bus incident. This is for the whole school, for showing us up in our classes. We all decided on this, and I'm going to enjoy every. Single. Moment."

_It's not _my_ fault you guys don't do your homework,_ I thought, though I kept that remark to myself, glancing at the guy holding my left arm. He was big and buff, and looked like he could win three Super Bowls in just one throw of the football. The other senior holding my right arm looked like he could win four.

_Crud..._ I thought, biting my lip. _I'm in _big_ trouble now._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Dun dun DUNNNN! Oh noes! What's gonna happen to Toby?! XD Reviews!


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Well, like I promised! Chapter 2 is up! I hope you like it, and Starwarrior4ever says, "Enjoy!" :3

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_Flick. Flick. Flick._

One by one, the lights in the school hallway went out, making the locker I was hiding in darker than it was before. I waited a few more minutes before quietly opening up the locker and crawling out, dusting myself off as I did so.

_"You are going to sneak into the Principal's office,"_ Drake had said,_ "and change these student's failing grades to passing grades. Don't make it too conspicuous, but don't make them lower than a C+, got it?"_ He had handed me a list of names, and I noticed that the students who wanted their grades changed were all the more popular students. Figures.

They had me hide in a locker and wait until the whole school was empty, to make sure that I wasn't caught. It had been a long wait, sitting there, cramped in the locker, and it was made even more uncomfortable by having a strong itch on my back that I couldn't reach.

Finally, though, the wait was over, and I crept down the halls towards the Principal's office. When I reached the door, I took out the lock pick that Drake had given me and wiggled the doorknob.

Wait—why wasn't the door locked?

Alarms went off in my head as I slowly pushed the door open. There was a scuffling inside, making me freeze.

"Wh-who's there?" I whispered nervously. The noises stopped abruptly, making me all the more nervous. I tried to peer into the dark room, but I couldn't see anything.

A sudden force rammed into me, knocking me flat on my back. I gave a yelp of surprise - and the figure did, too.

"Ow, what the—? Oh, you're just a kid." The figure got up - it had also been knocked over when it ran into me - and gave a sigh of relief. "I thought you were a teacher or something... What're you doing here?"

"I could ask _you_ the same question." I winced, staring hard at the black silhouette above me. Whoever it was sounded like a girl. A young girl, definitely not a student.

"Oh, me? I'm trying to get back my sister's robot dragon." The girl shrugged. "She accidentally got it confiscated after flying it into the Principal's window." She gave off a giggle. "And she's too chicken to try to get it back. You?"

"Oh, uh..." I stood up, brushing myself off, "I'm, er...um..."

"Oh, you're sneaking in to change your grades, aren't you?" The girl sounded annoyed. "That's called cheating, you know. Why can't you just _try_ to be better instead of lying about it?"

"I-I know—I mean, no, it's not my grades I'm changing!" I cut in. "I'm being _forced_ to change someone else's grades just because I get all good ones..."

"Oooh, right." The girl sounded sarcastic. "Because all you get are A pluses in every single subject. C'mon, gimme a break, the only one who can do that is Einstein."

"Well, my mom _does_ call me Einstein for that reason," I mumbled, scratching my head. The girl was silent for a moment.

"Oh...so you're a geek, then."

"I'm not a—well, I guess, but what's so wrong with that?" I growled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some grades to change, and I'm not in the mood to be grounded into a pulp by Dash and Jake." I pushed the girl aside and walked into the Principal's office.

"Oi!" the girl said. "Whatever happened to 'standing up for yourself', huh?"

"I can't," I growled, waving my hand over the switch. The holographic computer screen appeared. _Crap, there's always a password, isn't there?_

"Whaddya mean, you can't?" the girl huffed. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not strong enough, or big enough, or old enough—I'm freaking_ 13,_ okay? I just skipped a few grades." I turned to face the girl, who's form had been lit up by the light of the computer, and I was a little surprised to be facing what looked like a 12-year-old girl, with short black hair that had some purple highlights in it. The girl narrowed her icy blue eyes.

"Standing up for yourself doesn't just mean physically fighting back, you know," she said. "It also means doing the right thing."

"So breaking into the Principal's office to take back Betty's robot dragon is the right thing?" I countered.

The girl frowned. "How did you know it was Betty's?" she asked, confused.

"She said she had one that got confiscated, and you said you were getting it back for your sister, so I put together the pieces. But that's beside the point, Cora," I said, ignoring the look of surprise on the girl's face when I said her name. "How do you define the 'right thing' when you've just broken into the Principal's office?"

Cora gave another huff. "Because the Principal was totally overreacting when the dragon bumped into the window by accident this morning, and did no damage whatsoever. So to me, by taking my sister's robot dragon like that, it's basically stealing. Oh, and she wasn't supposed to have it back for another week, even though she said sorry."

I crossed my arms, trying to think of something to say to that, but couldn't. "Oh..." was all I could come up with.

"By the way, the password this week is 'MetroPolitician'. Weird, I know, but just in case you were wondering." Cora gave a wide smile. "Well, now that I've found Betty's dragon..." She gestured to the bag she was carrying over her shoulder. "I guess I'll be off now. See ya, Toby." She winked at me playfully and walked out the door.

_I guess Betty had told her about me. _I went back to the computer screen, but before I could type the words in, Cora poked her head in one more time.

"Oh, and by the way, the right thing to me also means doing what's right no matter the consequences," she said, then left for good. I could hear her quiet footsteps echoing down the hall for a moment before silence took their place.

I don't know how long I sat there, staring at the blank screen, waiting for me to type in the password and change everyone's grades. My mind was whirring, seeming to act out a scene from Hamlet.

Do it?

Not do it?

What's the right thing to do?

I'll get beat up for it!

They'll get the grades they don't deserve.

They'll turn me into a pulp!

I can get caught and blamed for this if I do it.

I get beat up either way...

But which is the right choice?

And so, with trembling fingers...I turned off the computer screen.

* * *

The walk home was long, and for a moment I considered taking a taxi. But then I remembered I had no money with me at the moment, so a taxi was out of the question.

The sky was darkening as I made my way home. My watch told me it was nearly seven... My mom would be so worried. What would I say to her when I got home? I didn't think telling her what had happened would be a good idea...would it? And tomorrow morning...

As my mind was processing these things, I was pulled out of my thoughts as I noticed a large truck pass me, bearing the Metropolis Energy Co. insignia. I remembered something from what my dad had told me about a comet falling to earth a few years ago, and how it held self-sustaining energy that could power the city for nearly a thousand years or more. My dad knew that because he was one of the people working on a generator that could sustain the power source efficiently and without overheating or exploding.

Liquid, he'd told me. If we can just turn the comet's energy source into liquid, it will be enough to keep the generator cool and let it do it's job without overheating!

I wasn't really supposed to know this stuff, seeing as it was top secret at the moment, but my dad couldn't help bragging sometimes. Though he did make a strong point in telling me not to tell any of my friends this...not that I'd had any friends at the time.

A screeching noise yanked me out of my thoughts as I was crossing the street. A swerving, driver-less hover-car was headed straight for the MEC truck, its driver obviously ejected from the front seat when it detected trouble. The MEC truck tried to swerve out of the way, but the out-of-control hover-car rammed into its cargo instead, creating a massive explosion!

I stumbled backwards, screaming as I realized that the truck still had momentum and was heading straight for me!

I couldn't move. I was too scared. Every inch of my brain was screaming RUN!, but my legs seemed to be turned into unresponsive, solid rock. But it wouldn't have mattered anyway if I could move, for the truck was only a few feet away.

_BAM!_

I felt myself flying backwards, then pinned underneath the cargo as it slowly screeched to a shuddering halt. I couldn't move. Not even a finger. Pain seemed to echo throughout my entire body, yet I couldn't scream. My head was pounding with blinding, white-hot pain. Then my eyes started dimming...my heart slowing... Was I dying?

A bright light suddenly appeared all around me. A blueish-white light, cool and comforting. It swirled all around me...it took away the pain. I felt strength enter my arms, my heart started to beat faster again, and my eyes suddenly could see...everything. From the small details of the thick, billowy clouds miles above me, to the individual stars millions of miles behind them.

I was definitely dead. But then...why did I still feel the truck pinning my legs to the ground? Sure, it didn't hurt as much as before - in fact, it didn't hurt at all - but if I was dead, wouldn't I be flying above the clouds or something? Wouldn't I see angels or...demons? Something like that?

I could hear sirens now. I turned my head to see the direction they were coming from...and gasped.  
The MEC truck's cargo had been carrying a glowing, blueish-white liquid, and it was spilling out of the large container, which had been destroyed when it crashed. The liquid swirled in patterns I thought were both beautiful and confusing.

_So that's the light I saw..._ I thought. That's when I noticed something else. Something stranger.  
The light was fading. The liquid was disappearing, as if it were being sucked away or absorbed by some...thing. It took a moment to realize the thing was _me!_

I slowly sat up, but the liquid still kept swirling around me, and towards me. I knew it was changing me somehow - my entire body was feeling different. Stronger...limber...? My head suddenly started feeling weird. I put a hand to my head, then jerked it back when I realized my hand was glowing. Not too much, but you could definitely see a distinct blue glow around my skin.

Okay, things were starting to get a little too weird, here.

Suddenly the glow vanished. So did the liquid, as the last of it seeped through my clothes and into my skin. I was now sitting in the middle of a dark, pretty much empty road, trapped underneath a truck, with sirens coming closer and closer to where I lay.

"Help..." a weak voice called. "Is anyone there? ...Anyone?"

It sounded like it was coming from the cabin of the truck, which was laying on its side, the roof facing my direction. I instinctively jumped up and raced towards the cabin before stopping and looking down at my legs. My pants were torn to shreds, but my legs seemed perfectly fine. But... they had just been trapped under the giant container! And how did I...?

"Help...I...Think my legs are broken...please help! Someone!" the voice called again.

"H-hold on, I'm coming!" I cried, deciding I would try and figure out what had just happened later. I reached up my arms and climbed up onto the side of cabin of the truck, peering down through the window. A man was curled up in a ball, trembling, obviously in pain. He looked up at me with tear-stained eyes.

"Is...the ambulance coming?" he moaned, his voice muffled through the cracked window.

"Yes, yes, I hear them coming, just hold on, okay?" I cried, panicked. I pulled at the door, but it was locked. I couldn't help yanking on it out of frustration. In the reflection of the window, though, my eyes suddenly flashed bright blue, and the door flew off its hinges and into the streets below. I sat there, mouth agape, staring at the door that had just been ripped off the truck by me. The man had obviously seen what I'd done too, for he let out a gasp of surprise.

"H-how...how did you do that?" he asked, his voice trembling.

"I-I don't know..." was all I could say. "Um... How bad are you hurt? Do you think you can make it until the ambulance comes?" I asked.

"I think...my legs..." He gestured to his legs. "Broken..." His voice started fading, and his eyes drooping.

"No, no, no, stay awake!" I climbed into the cabin and grabbed the man's arm. He gave a start, and stared at me with bloodshot eyes. "You have to stay awake, Mr...what's your name? Can you tell me your name?"

"F-Fenske," he replied. "John Fenske..." His eyes got wide. "Th-the cargo...did it get damaged? Is it spilling? Leaking? It got hit, I know it, but i-is...?"

"Hey, settle down, don't get too excited, all right? The cargo...uh..." I paused a moment. "It, um, uh..."

"It's leaking, isn't it!?" the man cried. "Oh, no, that—that—top secret—" He started hyperventilating.

"Calm down, the leaking stopped!" I said, and looked up at the hole I had made in the cabin. I finally heard the sirens stop right next to the truck—the Ambulance had arrived! I quickly climbed up and got out of the truck, waving my arms.

"Here!" I called. "There's a guy in here—he's hurt!"

The paramedics immediately ran forward and told me to come down off the truck so they could get to the man. They had me stand by a firetruck, with other firemen and police standing around them, some putting out fires and others trying to help assess the damage.

"Kid!" a policeman called to me. "My name is Inspector Tawashi, and I need to ask you a few questions. Also, your statements will be held as a fact, seeing as all cameras in the area were knocked out during the explosion. First, why were you in the truck?"

"I heard someone call for help," I replied. "I-I just had to make sure he was okay."

The policeman jotted down something in a notebook. "Do you know how the truck crashed?"

"Um..." Something kept me from saying what I saw. "N-no... I mean, I heard an explosion, and being the crazy person that I am, I went to go see if anyone got hurt or if they were okay." I gave a nervous chuckle. Tawashi jotted down a few more notes before looking up.

"Where were you when this happened?" he asked.

I scratched my head. "Um...a block or two away, I guess... I wasn't really paying attention," I said.

The Inspector studied me carefully. "What's your name, kid?" he asked.

I gulped. "T-Toby, sir."

"Last name?"

"Tenma."

The Inspector raised his eyebrows. "As in Will—"

"William Tenma, father of all modern robotics and weaponry. Yup, that's my dad." I said, shrugging.

Tawashi frowned. "Now, what is the son of a famous scientist doing out this late?" he asked.

"Taking a walk. What, so I can't have some exercise?"

"Hmm..." Tawashi studied me for another moment, taking in my ripped jeans and slightly dirty clothes. I suddenly got a little panicky. "Kids and their fashion, these days," Tawashi grumbled, shaking his head. I relaxed with relief. "Well, you obviously aren't in need of medical assistance, Mr. Tenma," Tawashi went on. "Would you like me to take you home?"

"Oh, uh, sure," I said. "Thanks."

"Anytime, kid," Tawashi said, tipping his hat.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Action packed, huh? Things are starting to get interesting for Toby, right? Yuss. :3 Review!


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** And here's chapter 3! Chapter 4 hasn't been uploaded onto deviantART yet, so I can't say for certain it'll be up by whatever time. Starwarrior4ever says thank you for all your reviews, faves, views, and follows, and she hopes you enjoy her story!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The door to my house opened to my mom's face, which was full of worry.

"Toby!" she cried, wrapping me in a super-tight hug. I gave a little groan of annoyance. "Where on earth _were_ you?! I was so worried, I—" She broke off, seeing Inspector Tawashi standing there. Her face got pale. "Toby..." she started, but Tawashi interrupted her.

"Oh, there's no need to be angry, Mrs. Tenma," he said hurriedly. "Your son hasn't done anything wrong."

"Oh? Then, why...?" My mom trailed off, her expression confused.

"Good to see you home, Master Tenma," our housebot said to me as I stepped away from the front door.

"Hi, Orrin," I said. I gave an abrupt yawn, suddenly feeling extremely tired.

"Would Master Toby like something to eat?" Orrin asked.

"No... No, I think I'm just going to go to bed," I mumbled, trudging up the stairs. I could hear the Inspector and my mom talking about what I did...if only they knew what had really happened.

Crazy thing was, I _still_ wasn't sure what had happened! I pushed open the door to my room, my eyelids drooping. I only just made it to the bed before falling unconscious.

* * *

It only felt like I'd been asleep for a few moments before I felt a hand shake my shoulder, forcing me out of my sleep. I blearily opened my eyes, rubbing them a few times before my vision cleared to see my mom standing over me with a concerned expression.

"All you alright, Toby?" she asked, troubled. "I've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes! Are you sick?" She put a hand to my forehead. "Hmmm..."

"I-I...wait, did you say ten minutes? What time is it?!" I cried, and looked at the clock. "HOLY CRUD, I'M GONNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" I launched myself out of bed, but my mom caught my arm.

"Toby Allen Tenma, you will do no such thing!" she declared, forcing me back on the bed. "You were out nearly all night last night, and you're also recovering from the shock of the crash you witnessed, and you might have a fever for God's sake! You will _sit_ back down _on_ that bed and wait for me to get a thermometer!" She studied my clothes for a moment, which I realized were the same, dirty, ripped clothes from yesterday. "And you will _also_ change into something more comfortable. Got it?"

"But..."

"No buts! Besides, what's one sick day?" And with that, my mom left the room. I stared at the empty door, not too sure what to feel. Half regret, because I'd never taken a sick day before, so this would definitely give me more school work than I already dealt with, and I hated extra school work. With a passion. But I also felt half relief, because a sick day meant that I didn't have to face Drake anytime soon. He would surely find out that I hadn't changed his grades today...because in the entry hall, student's current grades were shown to them so they could see how much they could improve, or tell them how much of a good job they were doing.

Okay, maybe it was more than half of me that was relieved.

I quietly took off my dirty clothes and replaced them with fresh ones, some blue jeans and a white t-shirt. By then, Mom was back with a thermometer.

"Put this under your tongue," she said. I did, and a few moments later it gave a loud _BEEP._ Mom took out the thermometer. "Hmm, 98.6°F, you're normal," she said, rubbing her chin.

"So...I still go to school?" I asked, disappointed.

Mom chuckled. "Well, you're not sick, and if you think you can manage it..." I couldn't help groaning a little. Mom tried to suppress a smile. "What, first you don't want to be late, now you don't want to go?" she chuckled, ruffling my hair. I pushed her away, shaking my head.

"No, it's not that, it's...never mind." I trudged towards my closet, taking out my blue tennis shoes. "Has the bus come yet?"

"Not yet, so you'd better hurry," Mom said. I quickly put on my shoes and grabbed my backpack, racing down the stairs and out of the house. The bus was just coming down the street, making me cringe with anticipation.

_What the heck was I thinking? 'I don't care what happens to me when I didn't change those grades'?!_ I thought, staring at the oncoming bus. _I'm gonna freaking _DIE!

The bus pulled up in front of me, and I slowly climbed in. Like usual, either the older teens ignored me, or gave me jeering looks. I saw Drake looking at me with a hard expression as I passed him. He grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"Did you do it?" he hissed. I gave him a cold stare. "Well? Did you?"

"What do _you_ think?" I shot back, yanking back my arm and walking to the back of the bus.

When the bus arrived at the school, I booked it to all my classrooms, avoiding all signs of Drake in the hallways. At lunch, I sat down in the corner of the lunchroom, sighing as I stared at my food. For some reason, I wasn't feeling very hungry. Dread, maybe?

"Toby, there you are!" I heard a cheery voice call. I looked up to see Betty walking towards me, a tray in her hands. "You don't look so good. Try to eat something, it'll make you feel better!" She sat down across from me, and took a large bite of her apple.

I shook my head. "Not really hungry," I mumbled.

Betty shrugged. "Well, okay then... You don't mind if I eat that, though, do you?" she asked, gesturing to the jello on my plate.

I gave a half smile. "Sure."

Betty grabbed for it and stuck it next to her own jello, munching on her second bite of apple. "So my sister got my robot dragon back," Betty said. "She's the best, Cora."

"Oh, uh... really?" I asked.

Betty nodded. "Yup! She snuck into the—" She glanced around, then leaned in, whispering, "—Principal's office and got it back! And I didn't even ask her to!" She gave off a giggle.

"Wow, uh, some sister..." I said, scratching my head.

"I know, right?" Betty laughed.

The rest of the day seemed to be much better, with Betty constantly talking, getting my mind off of Drake. She was fun to listen to, with her jokes, her prattles, her funny family stories. But good things couldn't last forever...

School was finally over for the day, and Betty had just left with her dad, who always picked her up and dropped her off to and from work, which was why I hadn't seen her on the bus that morning. I was walking down a hallway towards the front door, my mind still edgy, wary of Drake's two cronies. I heard them coming before I saw them.

Two pairs of large hands grabbed me from behind, nearly scaring me out of my wits. They dragged me down a hall and out a back door, behind the school. Drake was standing there with his arms folded, a dark look on his face.

"What did I tell you, Baby?" he sneered. "It's pulp time. Fellas?"

Dash and Jake cracked their knuckles, lunatic grins on their faces. Before I had a chance to make a break for it, Jake grabbed my arms in a steel-tight grip while Dash started pumping his right fist. I cringed, waiting for the pain.

He pummeled me in the stomach, twice, three times...but it didn't hurt. He did it again, but this time he punched me in the face! But that didn't hurt either. I immediately started making noises as if I were in serious pain, all the while wondering why the heck I couldn't feel anything.

Then I realized—last night. The blue stuff! Did it somehow affect my nervous system so I couldn't feel pain anymore? Or something worse?!

Jake dropped me to the ground, and I pretended to cough and wheeze, keeping my head low.

"Now, we're going to do this every single day, until you get those grades changed," Drake said coldly. "Are we clear on that?"

"No..." I growled. "We're not clear." I looked up at Drake's face, as defiantly as I could. "Why don't you just get someone else to change those grades for you, because I sure as heck won't do it! I don't care if you beat me up every day for it, I'm not going to give you the grades you don't deserve!"

Jake kicked me hard in the stomach for that, knocking me flat on my back. Drake gave a snort.

"Maybe the baby's got a point," he mused. "He might give us lower grades then we already have... I'll bring it up to the others." He turned to Jake and Dash. "C'mon, fellas. Let's leave the baby to cry in the corner." The thundering duo gave two loud guffaws and walked away. I sat there on the ground, my heart beating faster and faster in anger.

_I'm not a baby! I'm not a baby, I'm _NOT_ a _BABY! I gave a yell of frustration and swung my arm into the ground. There was a loud _CRUNCH,_ and a burst of blue light. The asphalt below me was cracked, a fist-sized hole where I'd punched the ground. And my fist was giving off a bright blue glow, tendrils of the light swirling around it before fading away with my anger.

I got up quickly, staring at my hand and the hole in the ground, not sure what to do. Had I just done that?! How?! And...my temper... Usually I can keep it under control, but...

I was starting to get scared now, my heart racing as I stared at my hand. There wasn't even a scratch on it. I clutched my head, mind reeling. What if the ground had been a person?!

"What is _happening_ to me?" I half whispered. I took a few steps backward, hesitated, then ran.

* * *

I ran for who knows how long, down main streets, alleyways, parking lots... I ran and ran until I found myself on the middle of MetroBridge, the bridge that led over the river and out of Metro City. The sky was darkening, my watch telling me that I'd been running for at least five hours. But somehow I wasn't even tired from all that running! It was like I'd taken a short, brisk walk instead of a five hour run!

Mom would wonder where I was...but I'd needed to get out, needed to figure out what was wrong with me...

I gripped the rail, the same questions that had been in my head nearly all day still pounding in my brain, demanding an answer.

_What _happened_ to me? What was that blue stuff, and how did it make me like this?_

The answer came rushing at me like a bullet. I slapped my head, realization dawning on me as I figured everything out!

The liquid was _Blue Core!_ Dad must have figured out how to liquefy it! And Blue Core was pure positive energy - that was how I was able to run so long without feeling tired! And the reason I wasn't hungry hadn't been because of dread or worry...it was because I _hadn't_ needed food! It was self-sustaining energy!

_But how was I able to punch through the ground?_ I asked myself, squeezing the slightly rusty metal rail as I tried to think. A screeching noise interrupted my thoughts, and I quickly let go of the rail. Where my hands had been before, now there were grip-marks in the metal. _Oops..._ I'd crushed the rail by accident.

_I guess...immense and infinite energy gives you super strength?_ I told myself, half-guessing.

Thunder suddenly boomed over me. I looked up, seeing the dark and stormy clouds looming over the city. It never seemed to stop raining here, did it? I pushed my hood over my head as I felt the raindrops start to come down, pelting me and soaking my clothes.

_I've got to get home and tell Dad about this,_ I thought as I started to walk down the sidewalk on the bridge. My foot suddenly sipped in a puddle, and I felt myself stumbling sideways into the busy road.

_HOOOOOONK!_ a car blared at me, the driver pounding furiously on the horn. I saw the car coming straight for me.

"GAAHH!" I yelled, jumping out of the way. Blue light suddenly appeared around my feet, swirling in a downwards direction, and I was suddenly propelled upwards. I just barely missed a metal beam on the bridge, but then suddenly I was flying above it, into the sky. I screamed the entire way, totally freaked out!

WHOOSH! I flew straight into the clouds, becoming even more drenched than I was before, and feeling the electrical charge of lightning as it crackled through the thick, dark clouds. Then without warning, a bright light shone in my face, nearly blinding me. It took me a moment for my eyes to adjust to the sudden light. But when they did adjust...

I stared, awestruck. I was looking at a view beyond anything else that I had ever seen. The orange sun was just about to set behind the clouds below me, lighting them up in an array of orange, pink, yellow, and red. Just the beauty of it captivated me in a way I can never express. That's when I realized...

I was flying! No jet-packs, no hover-cars... I was actually and positively _FLYING! _

I gave a whoop of excitement, which caused me to become unbalanced from my hovering state. I did a few somersaults in the air before managing to correct myself again.

"Okay," I said to myself, determination ringing in my voice. "Let's try this again."

I threw myself forward, this time shooting across the sea of clouds like a rocket. I gave another loud whoop of joy as I soared in the air, feeling the cool air against my face. I lowered my hand and felt the clouds as they passed by underneath me.

As I flew underneath the darkening sky, I recalled Betty's words.

_"It would be nice to fly... To be free from the ground, to be like a bird..."_

Looks like I was granted her wish. I _could_ fly! I could _fly!_ And with another loud "Whooohooo!" I dove into the clouds, going faster and faster until I saw the lights of Metro City appear. I was flying straight for the city - but I didn't stop.

_Faster!_ I yelled in my mind. The city started getting closer and closer. Finally, when I passed a skyscraper, I pulled up, leveling off - and found myself heading straight for another building!

I dove to the left, then to the right, weaving through the tall buildings of Metro City. My heart was racing with excitement, and with a burst of speed, I flew myself over the city once more. I looked down at Metro City, my face split into a wide smile.

Something else Betty said came back to me. _"What would you do if you had superpowers?"_

_"I dunno, save the world, I guess..."_ had been my reply. Save the world? Was that _really_ what I was meant to do? My...destiny, you could say?

"Look out, Metro City," I called, giving off another wide grin. "There's another hero... Okay, maybe I won't say that. _Way _too cheesy."

* * *

**Author's Note:** XD Toby kind of has a derp moment with the Blue Core thing, doesn't he? XDDDD Well, both I and starwarrior4ever (we'll just call her Star) say leave reviews! :3


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Star finally uploaded it onto dA! Hooray! Well, here's chapter 4 guys. We hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"...Reports of what seems to be a robot with rockets flying through Metro City..."

I froze, toothbrush in my mouth as I walked from the bathroom to my room, past the stairs where I could hear the news playing in the living room. I strained my ears, and suddenly the news report seemed too loud, making me give off a small yelp of surprise and rub my ears.

"OW," I said, my mouth full of toothpaste. _Whoa, I have super-hearing?_

"...Theories of a project that the scientists of the Ministry of Science were testing out is the only explanation at present, though there are no confirmed reports, seeing as the scientists are keeping silent. What do you think, Ben?"

_So they think I was a robot, huh? Makes sense._ I went back to the bathroom and spat the toothpaste out of my mouth.

I'd gotten back home just fine, seeing as my parents, who both worked at the Ministry of Science, were working late that night, and had only just gotten home.

I crept down the stairs to see my dad sitting on the couch facing the TV, his head in his hands.

"I don't know what to do, Molly," he said, his tone worried and dejected. "We don't have any other choice..."

"Bill, you and I _both_ know that Red Core is highly unstable and can do so much damage if it's placed in that generator!" my mom said.

Dad just shook his head. "If we can't find a way to get the Blue Core back in two weeks, they'll order us to use the Red Core!"

"Did you tell them that the Blue Core was stolen?" Mom asked.

Dad nodded. "Yes, I did," he said, "Then they said we could use the Red Core as a substitute instead of the Blue Core while we look for it, but they just don't understand... I didn't get a chance to explain it to them about Stone!"

Before Mom had a chance to reply, the phone beeped. Dad answered it, and a holographic image of Dr. Elefun - one of my dad's colleagues at work - appeared.

"Tenma, I made sure this line was blocked, but it won't be for long, so I'll be as brief as I can. Did you hear the news about the robot?" Dr. Elefun asked, worried.

Dad straightened up. "Er, no, sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What robot?"

"The robot that at least ten citizens reported to have seen flying around," Dr. Elefun said. "And the first witness reported to have seen it around three hours ago, at 7:13."

"What are you trying to say?" Dad asked. I felt a cold chill crawl up my spine as I realized what Dr. Elefun was trying to say.

"What I'm trying to say is that my readings have picked up a strong trace of Blue Core," Elefun said. "And it's traced to go back to _7:13 pm!_ I've only just found out on my monitors!"

"What?!" Dad cried. "Can you trace it to where it is now?"

"I tried, but the signal faded, and I lost it," Dr. Elefun said sadly. "But at least we have a lead as to what the Blue Core is being held in. The robot."

"Or some of it, anyway," my dad replied, putting a hand to his chin. "There was a whole truck full of liquid Blue Core... Whoever stole it must have stored it in his own container unit, but put some of the liquid in the robot."

"But wouldn't the Blue Core show up continuously? And if the trace of Blue Core was being hidden, why would it show up at all?" Dr. Elefun wondered aloud.

"Do you think we should tell the police?" Dad asked.

Elefun shook his head. "No, we'll notify the president, and he'll decide whether or not to do that," he said.

I crept my way down stairs and into the living room. "Er...Dad?" I gulped. "Um—"

"Toby, what are you doing out of bed? It's 9:30, and you have school tomorrow!" Mom said sternly, shooing me out of the living room.

"But I—"

"No buts!" Mom ushered me up the stairs. "Now you will go to your room without another word, or no more TV this weekend. Goodnight, sweetie!"

I opened my mouth, but Mom raised her hand.

"I said, good _night!_"

* * *

Sleep didn't come at all as I lay in my bed that night. I tossed and turned, scrunching up my eyes, and trying to find some form of sleep, but I lay as wide awake as if it were the middle of the afternoon. When midnight came round, I gave a loud groan and sat up in my bed.

"Sleep, sleep, sleep!" I told myself, banging my fist on my forehead as if that would help. It wasn't as if I had too much on my mind to think about sleep - though the whole 'Blue Core is stolen' thing my dad and the other scientists believed really did bother me.

Then I remembered the fact that I hadn't been hungry yesterday, or the fact that I still wasn't. It seemed logical to me that, since I had self-sustaining energy in me, I wouldn't need to sleep.

Oh great, so I had _insomnia_ now?

I pushed the covers off of me, placing my feet on the soft carpet of my room. The rain outside quietly pattered against the window, refusing to let up.

Groaning a little, I flung myself back onto my bed. That's when I heard the sound of a window being opened. I looked up, alarmed to see a figure poke its head in.

"Oh, whoopsie! Wrong house..." the figure squeaked.

I sat up, scratching my head, recognizing the voice. "Cora?" I asked, confused. The figure screeched in surprise, losing her grip on the window and tumbling inside. I quickly got up and helped her to her feet.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—Toby? Oh phew, it's just you. I was afraid I'd skipped my house and ended up in Mr. McClucken's or something," she whispered giddily, rubbing her head. "It's really hard to tell in the dark."

"Uh, your house?" I asked her as she brushed herself off.

"Yeah, 9982 Nova St. Heh, fancy me ending up in your house, though." She gave another giggle.

"Okay, two things, one I need to know and you need to know. First off, if your address is 9982, then you must live right next door, because this house is 9981."

"Really? We're next door neighbors? Wow, fancy that!" Cora said, surprised.

I immediately made a shushing noise. "Quiet, my parents are kind of light sleepers," I hissed. "I'm surprised they didn't wake up when you screamed a few moments ago."

"I didn't _scream_...very loud," Cora mumbled, self-consciously.

"And secondly, what were you doing out there in the first place?" I asked, looking at my clock. "At...12:10 in the morning?"

Cora was silent for a moment. "Um...did I ever tell you that I want to be a detective when I grow up?" she asked.

I shook my head. "We never got much of a chance to talk about anything, actually," I replied.

"Well, so yeah, that's what I want to be, so...okay. I really wanted to learn more about that robot that was flying over the city earlier today, so I decided to put my detective-in-training skills to action by trying to track the robot down. I didn't get very far, though... It's hard to track something that flies," she said dejectedly, crossing her arms.

I awkwardly shifted my feet, clearing my throat. "So...how far did you get?" I asked.

Cora shrugged. "Well I heard on the news the robot was first seen on the bridge, flying away, so that's where I looked first. But at first I didn't see anything there, so I was about to give up, but then I saw this rail that looked like it had been squeezed really hard. And it looked like it had been done with hands, too! Like, _actual_ human hands!"

"So..." I rubbed my arm. "You think the robot did that?"

"Well duh, who else could have done it?" Cora asked, hands on her hips.

I shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it was there before."

"Possibly, but I doubt it," Cora said.

I nodded slowly. "So...um...yeah..." I said awkwardly.

Cora immediately started blushing. "Yeah...I think I'd better, um...go... Yeah."

"Um, yeah, getting kind of late."

"We've got school tomorrow."

"Other things..."

"Soccer practice..."

"You take soccer?"

"No, Betty does, I just go with her."

"Oh, right...well, um, goodnight, then." I said.

Cora gave a little awkward giggle. "Yeah...goodnight," she said, climbing out of the window.

"Be careful!" I called down to her.

Cora rolled her eyes as she made her way down the slippery drain pipe. "I'm always caref—whoah, whoah, WHOAH!" She slipped the last few feet and landed on her back on the wet ground. She lay there for a few moments before opening her eyelids. "Okay...I'm careful _most_ of the time," she grumbled.

I couldn't help laughing. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yup," she said. "Well...bye."

"Yeah...bye..." I gave a little wave as I watched Cora jog down the street. "It's the other way!" I called to her. She skidded to a stop and did a one-eighty, then started jogging to her own house. I smiled before closing the window.

I sighed in my dark room, almost wishing Cora had stayed longer. _Now_ what was I supposed to do? I slumped into my chair in front of my desk, flipping on the light. Fiddling with my mecha-pen, my eyes started to wander around my room, and ended up at my bookshelf. My comic books were stored there...action-packed adventures of Metro-Man, Galactica, The Human Bomb, etc...

It occurred to me that every superhero had a super suit, or a logo to identify them by. That's what told everyone who they were...and the good they could do.

I immediately grabbed a stack of blank papers from my desk drawer, grabbed a few mechanical pencils, and started sketching out a few ideas. Now, I'm not the greatest artist in the world, but my drawings do look pretty decent, at least.

Ideas swirled in my head, and I tried my best to put them on paper. Many I crumpled up, crossed out, but some I looked at thoughtfully and put them in a small pile. Finally, when it was around 4:00 a.m., I was looking at two pictures that I couldn't decide on.

One was of a full body-suit with a classical mask, a cape, an X across the front and a handy-looking belt around it's waist. The other was a more plain drawing, a simple body-suit with a ninja-like mask. I decided on the more simple one, thinking it would be much easier to make, and much more stealthy, too.

I placed the winning design on my bed, then gathered up the other loose, crumpled papers, throwing them in the trash bin. I sighed as I rubbed my hands together. I still wasn't tired at all, and no sign of fatigue had ever showed while I was drawing. So much for my small hopes of just not being able to sleep.

* * *

School that day never seemed to drag on so slowly. I was so eager to get out and practice my new-found powers that I could hardly pay attention to my classes. Betty wasn't there that day, so I assumed that she'd caught a cold or something. I wasn't surprised, seeing how chilly the weather had gotten lately, not to mention how much it had been raining.

Finally, school ended. I was surprised to not run into Drake as I ran out the doors to the school bus, before remembering that he'd been sent to detention earlier that day.

Once the bus reached home, I ran inside and grabbed my ninja-suit design that I had made the night before, and, after searching through my closet for a few moments, took out my old black hoodie that I had gotten a long time ago. Probably still fitted. I pulled it on, then snuck into my mom's closet and grabbed one of her scarfs, a plain black one. My makeshift ninja outfit was turning out pretty well, it seemed.

I stuffed the scarf into my backpack, along with the picture, then ran to the front door, grabbing the handle and turning it.

"And where do you think you're going, young man?" a voice said sternly, coming from behind me. I slowly turned around to face my mom, who was standing in the entry hallway, hands on her hips.

"Uh...you're home early," I said.

Mom raised her eyebrow. "It's Wednesday, Toby. I take Wednesday's off, remember?"

"Oh, right..."

"Now, what I want to know is where have you been these last few days, and where you're off to. Don't think I haven't noticed; Orrin told me what time you were back yesterday," Mom said, crossing her arms. "Now talk."

I opened and closed my mouth, unsure of what to say. "Um...I've got...friends..."

"I thought you didn't _have_ any friends," Mom said, raising her eyebrow again. Suddenly the doorbell rang.

Mom held up her hand to me as I made to answer it, walked over to the door, and opened it.

"Oh, uh, hi...is Toby home?" a familiar voice from the other side of the door said sheepishly. "You must be his mom."

"Er, yes, he's right here," my Mom said, completely surprised.

I pushed my mom aside and gave Cora a wide grin. "Hi," I said. "Um...what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you would, like, want to come over and help cheer Betty up," she said, shrugging. "She's not feeling very well, but I'm positive you won't get sick, too, because she's taken all those medications and stuff."

"Oh, okay, yeah, sure—I mean..." I turned to my mom. "Is it okay if I go?"

Mom looked at me skeptically. "Now who's Betty?" she asked.

"A friend from school," I said. "I think she just moved in, or something, right?"

"Yup!" Cora grinned. "Next door, actually."

"Ah..." my Mom said, pursing her lips. It looked like she was trying to hold back a smile. "Well, it's all right with me, if it's okay with your parents," she said.

Cora nodded eagerly. "Yeah, otherwise I wouldn't have come over in the first place," she giggled.

I walked out the door, waving to Mom as she closed the front door. I turned to Cora. "Thanks," I said gratefully.

Cora raised her eyebrow. "For what?"

"For...uh, giving me something to do, today." I gave an embarrassed grin. "I was totally bored out of my wits."

"Don't you have homework or something like that?" Cora asked as we walked down the driveway.

I shook my head. "My school doesn't give us homework." I shrugged. "You know, 'you've already done your learning and schoolwork for the day, so why take it home'?"

"Heh, lucky, I wish my school did that," Cora said. "I guess I just got confused because Betty has lots of catch-up work to do since she enrolled in the middle of the school year."

"Yeah, so she's sick?" I asked. "With what?"

"Strep." Cora grimaced, opening her front door. "But it's not contagious anymore, thanks to the meds, but she can't talk very well because her throat still hurts, which is really irritating her. So she's kind of in a bad mood, which is why I went to go get you. I thought seeing a friendly face might cheer her up a bit."

We walked into her house, and my eyebrows shot up in surprise. Compared to the inside of my house, which was always kept clean thanks to our house-bot, Orrin, Cora's home looked like a warzone. The floor was dirty, the walls had fingerprints on it, and the few pictures hanging up were askew. Boxes full of things waiting to be unpacked were on tables, chairs, and there was a huge pile of empty boxes in a large room next to the front door.

It only took a moment for me to love this place.

"Hey, who's he?" a tall kid asked, coming out from a swinging door at the end of the entry hallway and crossing his arms. He looked around 14, and was a few inches taller than me. He also had black hair, but his eyes were brown, and his skin had a dark tan.

"This is Toby," Cora said brightly. "Betty's friend from school. He skipped a few grades," she explained, seeing the boy's raised eyebrow.

"Toby, this is my older brother, Zane."

"Hi," I said, extending my hand.

Zane shook it, eyeing me carefully. "Hi," he replied. Suddenly, two small kids with bright red hair came screaming out of the large pile of empty boxes and into the front hall, waving their arms like maniacs.

"IT'S GONNA GET US!" the boy cried, throwing himself onto Zane's leg, who stumbled backwards, caught off balance.

"HELP US!" the girl screeched, throwing herself onto me and knocking me off my feet. I crashed into the ground, the little girl on my stomach. She seemed around four- or five-years-old, had a face that was covered in freckles, and bright green eyes that shone with excitement. They turned into confusion when they saw me.

"Wait, you're not Cora," she said, frowning.

"Widget, get off of Toby!" Cora said, annoyed, pulling her off of me. "You okay?" she asked me.

"Yeah, fine," I said, getting up. "Um...your sister?"

"Yup, most of my family is adopted, in case you were wondering," she said, gesturing to the red-headed twins. "That's Sludge." She pointed to the boy who was still clinging onto Zane's legs. "His real name is Alexander, but he won't respond to anything else besides Sludge. And the human bowling ball is Widget, who's real name is Samantha, but also won't respond to anything besides Widget."

"Cora, look at this!" Sludge cried, letting go of Zane's leg. "I'm a human bowling ball, too!" He barreled his way towards me, grabbing me in the legs and nearly knocking me off my feet again.

"Oof!" I grunted. "You're a _heavy_ bowling ball."

Sludge gave a happy grin.

"WAAAH!" yet another voice shrieked. A girl, who looked around ten-years-old, was waving a chainsaw in the air.

"GRACE, PUT THAT CHAINSAW DOWN!" Zane yelled. "You could hurt someone with that!" Grace stuck out her tongue and dropped the chainsaw on the ground.

"Nice family you got there," I said to Cora, Sludge still sticking to my leg.

"Heh, thanks." Cora grinned. "This is only half of my family, by the way. I see you've got an admirer." She gestured to her brother.

"Whassah admirer?" Sludge asked.

"Nothing, never mind." Cora rolled her eyes. "C'mon, I'll take you to Betty."

She led me through the throng of arguing siblings - Sludge still holding onto my leg - and past the swinging doors into the rather messy kitchen. She turned left, and started running up some stairs. I looked down at the freckled boy.

"I think you're going to have to get off, now," I said.

Sludge shook his head, squeezing my leg tighter. "Nuh, uh! Ride!" he said.

"Umm, I'm going to be going up some stairs..."

"Yay! Fun!" I couldn't help face-palming. A woman with black hair came into the kitchen from a different doorway. _She must be their mom,_ I thought.

"Sludge, get off the young man, please," she said, her voice sounding tired. I couldn't blame her, with all these hyper kids.

"'Kay, Mommy," Sludge said, releasing my leg. I smiled at Sludge before running up the stairs after Cora, who was waiting at the top.

"What took ya so long?" she asked.

"I didn't want Sludge on my leg when I walked up the stairs," I said, grinning apologetically.

"Oi!" a muffled voice came from the room across the stairs. "Is that—?" There was the sound of violent coughing as the voice broke off.

I turned to Cora. "Does Betty know I'm here?" I asked.

"Nope." Cora grinned. "It was gonna be a surprise." She opened the door to reveal a tired, messy-looking Betty. But she immediately perked up when I walked in.

"TOBY—" She started coughing again. "Agh, darn throat!" She grimaced. "But, Toby! What are you doing here?"

"Cora came and got me," I said. "I heard you weren't feeling well."

"You could say _that_ again," Betty grumbled, crossing her arms. Cora went over to her and sat on the bed, while I went and stood awkwardly by the window. Her room was, like the rest of the house, a mess. Only her room was littered with wads of tissue paper as well as boxes skewed around the room.

"Anything exciting happen at school?" she asked, her throat sounding hoarse.

I shook my head. "Nope, today was actually more boring than usual."

Betty slumped in her bed. "Eh, okay, just wondering..." She suddenly perked up. "Hey, my throat is suddenly getting better!"

"Good, the meds are starting to kick in." Cora smiled. "We'll have you back to normal in no time." She turned to me. "She wouldn't stop talking about the robot flying around last night."

"Yeah, I heard a little bit of that on the news," I said. "What do you guys think?"

"I think it's a good robot," Betty declared. "I mean, if it were evil, then it would have attacked the city yesterday instead of just fly around."

"But it could have just been a test flight," Cora pointed out. "And I doubt there is any such thing as a _good_ robot. Robots are just...well, robots, I guess. Machines. My guess is whoever is controlling it was giving it a test flight to see if everything was working properly. For good reasons or for bad reasons. What do you think, Toby?"

I gave a start when Cora said my name. "Uh, what? Oh, um...I don't really know... I mean... I'll decide when I see it do something that tells me what it is, I guess," I said. "Um... You know what I mean?"

"Yeah...but I still think it's good!" Betty said huffily, making me smile.

Cora shrugged, then looked at me for a moment. "What's in the pack?" she asked.

I fingered the strap to my backpack. "Um, nothing important," I said.

Cora made a puppy-dog face, then nudged Betty, who started doing the same thing. "Pwetty pwetty pwease?" Cora asked, giving a fake pout. "We'll stop bothering you when we see."

"Um..." I wasn't sure what to do. "I...guess..."

"Yay!" Betty cried, holding her hands out. I handed her the backpack, and she opened it. She raised an eyebrow and took out the black scarf. "What's a girl's scarf doing in here?" she asked.

I froze. "I-it's not a girl's scarf!" I said nervously.

Cora took the scarf, giggling. "Oh, yeah? Then why does the tag say 'Women's Wear'?"

Oops.

"Oh, uh, I must have grabbed the wrong one on the hook, then," I said, embarrassed.

Betty and Cora burst out laughing. "Ow, ow, my throat," Betty winced, calming down. "Okay, what else is in here...?" She took out the paper with the ninja on it.

"Did you draw that?" Cora asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, just, um, a superhero I made up, I guess..."

"Cool! What's his name?" Betty grinned, looking over the picture.

I gave a shrug. "Uh, haven't thought of one, yet," I said, rubbing my head.

Cora cocked her head to the side. "Hmm," she tapped her chin. "What are his powers?"

"Flying, super strength, um, super hearing..." I counted on my fingers the list of powers I had. "I don't know what else, yet."

"Yet?"

"Uh, you know, I planned on giving him more, but I haven't thought of any more yet, so..." I said, thinking quickly.

Cora nodded. "I like the star thing on his chest," Betty said.

Cora brightened up. "Can I see?"

"Yeah." Betty showed Cora the picture, and I could almost see the light bulb that had appeared over her head.

"Oh, I know!" she said. "'ástron' means 'Star' in Greek, and to me he looks like a kid, or a boy - I'm right on that part, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Okay, so, if you take off the 'n' in 'ástron', it would be astro. Right? So I was thinking you could name him Astro Boy!"

_Astro Boy?_ I scratched my head, thinking the name over in my head. It actually seemed to work, to me. Blue Core came from space, had self-sustaining energy, and stars came from space, and also had self-sustaining energy...

"Yeah, I like that name," I said. "It sounds modern, kind of space-age."

"So you're going to use it, then?" Cora asked.

"Sure, why not?"

I noticed that Betty was looking at Cora weird. "Since when did you know Greek?" she asked, frowning.

Cora blushed. "I don't. I just remember Dad saying that the word 'astronaut' comes from the two Greek words 'ástron' and 'nautes', together meaning 'star sailor', or something like that."

"Then how come _I_ don't remember that?"

"Because you obviously weren't paying attention!"

As the two girls bickered, I couldn't help smiling to myself. _Astro Boy..._ I finally had a name, thanks to my two friends. I wondered if I should tell them about... But maybe I shouldn't.

_But a hero always has friends to help him,_ I told myself. _But those are stories. This is reality... I wouldn't want them to get hurt._

"Whatcha thinking about?" Betty asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I shook my head. "Oh, uh, nothing... Nothing at all."

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is what Star wanted me to tell you guys:

"I'm really not satisfied with this chapter. I mean, I guess it's okay, but...

Looking through the rest of the chapters that I've written already, I'm kinda worried that they're too jumpy—as in, suddenly this thing, or suddenly that thing—or don't make enough sense. :/

Please please tell me if something like that happens so I can fix it. I might even re-write this story after I post the rest of the chapters up, maybe... Just so it can be smoother, more details, and more professional."

Leave reviews also! :)


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Hey, guys! This day's A/N will be from Star herself! *applause* Here she is! *Star comes out waving, sits in a chair* So, Star, what do you have to say to our readers this fine morning?

"I'm really not satisfied with this chapter guys. It's just: I'm afraid it's too convenient, or coincidental, or random or...something to that effect. Please tell me what you think!"

And there you have it! A word from our author herself! Enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" I narrowly dodged a tree, doing a twirl in the air before landing on the ground more-or-less gracefully. At least I'd landed on my _feet_ this time…

It had been four days since I'd gotten these powers. Lately, since I couldn't sleep anymore at night, I'd been sneaking out and heading to Metro Park, just outside of the city. I'd hoped the undercover of trees would at least keep people from seeing me. Also, I knew it was a good place to practice because there were rumors of wild animals in the forest, like rabid wolves or bears. They only stayed in the dark parts of the forest, though, and never ventured near the city.

I needed to be undercover because it seemed that whenever I summoned the Blue Power - that's what I'd been calling it lately. Lame name, I know - I started glowing bright blue. At least my dark clothes helped somewhat...but this aura thing was definitely a drawback if I was going to be sneaking up on people.

No one had found out about me yet, but I was too scared to tell Dad about me, too, even though I knew I should. It was just...the other scientists. I was afraid that maybe since I'd adsorbed at least a ton's worth of the liquefied Blue Core, they might start doing experiments on me, treat me like a lab rat. I knew this was just a silly theory, but the idea of having tests done to me kept me silent. Besides...I knew the truth would come out sooner or later.

So, I practiced, in the undercover of the trees. I practiced my flying skills, the trees making a good obstacle course; my hearing powers - I was able to listen to some guy's headphones three blocks away, now, without anything else distracting me; and my super strength. So far, I could pick up pretty much anything. From a super-big fallen tree, to a car - I'd made sure no one was around when I tried - to...well, you get the picture.

While practicing how to use these powers, I thought of the ninja suit I'd designed. I really didn't need one - a code name was enough - but I thought that the plain old hoodie and my mom's scarf was too easily identifiable. I'd need something a little different at least…

I pushed back my hood and let down my mom's scarf, my face getting a little hot underneath it. Whatever I would wear fighting crime in the future, it definitely wouldn't be this warm. I gave a sigh, looking up at the tall trees.

_Snap!_ I whipped my head to where the sound came from and extended my hearing. I could hear the shuffling of footsteps... It was just one person, though. No, wait - two! I quickly dodged behind a tree, peeking out from behind it as I tried to peer through the darkness. Was that voices I just heard?

"...Don't know why he's out here, Zane," one of them was whispering. "But this is the third time this week I've seen him sneak out."

"It's not like _you_ don't sneak out sometimes, Cora," Zane pointed out, his tone hushed.

_Zane? Cora? What are they doing here?_ I wondered, surprised.

"Yeah, but not three nights in a _row!"_ Cora hissed. "I'm just...worried about him, that's all." One of them seemed to stop walking, for I heard some of the footsteps stop.

"You _like_ him, don't you?" he cackled.

Cora stopped walking, too. "I do not!" she said, exasperated. "I mean, as a friend, yes, but I don't _like_ him, like him!"

"Yeah, sure," Zane snickered. "Whatever you say, sis."

"Ugh! You're impossible!" she growled, stomping closer to the tree I was hiding behind.

"You're probably scared that he's meeting up with some _girl_ every night, and—"

"Zane, will you shut up?" Cora screeched. "I am _not_ in love with Toby Tenma, whatever you might say otherwise! Okay?! Besides, I'm 12! I'm not interested in any sort of romance, anyway!"

"Kay, fine, sheesh," Zane said submissively. "I was only being silly."

"Oh, yeah, righ—" She stopped talking when another loud snap echoed through the forest. I looked down at my feet. Nope, wasn't me. So what was...?

"What was that?" Cora asked, echoing my thoughts.

"Um...maybe it was your—friend! I was gonna say friend!" Zane said hurriedly.

"Yeah, sure you were," Cora mumbled. "Toby? Is that you?"

No answer.

"Do you think it was a...rabid wolf or something?" Zane whispered.

"Don't be ridiculous, those rumors are just that - rumors. The only big enough animal that could harm a human in these woods is a buck, most likely."

"They why did they put up those 'Do Not Enter' signs we saw and gates we had to sneak under before we came here?" Zane countered.

"Um, because...it's private property?"

"Then why is it called a 'Park'?"

"Why do you question everything?!"

"Why do you—?"

_Grrrrrooowwlll._ A sudden noise stopped the two from bickering, making them - and me - freeze in terror.

A giant, black bear was standing behind the two kids, growling and foaming at the mouth. Cora and Zane just stood there, staring straight ahead, fear-stricken.

"It's right behind us, isn't it?" Cora squeaked.

"Yup," Zane said in a constricted voice.

"What do we do?"

"Run." The two took off running, past the tree I was hiding behind. The bear gave a thunderous roar and started lumbering after them.

"Oh, c'mon, guys!" I moaned, as if they could hear me. "Don't you know the first rule about wild animals? DON'T RUN AWAY FROM THEM? Geez!" I immediately took action, launching myself into the air, towards Zane and Cora. I grabbed them by their jackets, making them both scream, and flew them high into the air just as the bear was about to catch up to them.

"AAAAAHHH! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Zane cried, swinging his legs in the empty air and seeing the giant bear many feet below them.

"I'M GONNA DIIIIEEEE!" Cora screamed, covering her eyes in terror. "WE'RE GONNA DIIIIEEEE!"

"Geez, guys, stop screaming!" I cried. "I'm trying to freakin' _help_ you two, and you're not making it any easier!"

The two jerked their heads up in surprise.

"TOBY?!" Cora screamed again.

I realized with a pang that I'd forgotten to cover my face again. "Um...hi," I muttered, before slowing my speed and setting them down on the branch of a tall tree. The two scrabbled for a hold on the branch, then stared at me with wide eyes as I hovered before them.

"How...how...?" Zane stuttered, his face doing a remarkable impersonation of a fish.

"You..." Cora narrowed her eyes. "You were the robot! In the news! You—wait, _are _you a robot?!"

"No!" I said defensively. "I'm just as human as the two of you!" The two raised their eyebrows at me, making me rub my head in embarrassment. "Well, I _was_ as human as the two of you anyway..."

"Wait, wait, wait, back up. Start over. How did you get like that in the first place?!"

"Um..." I gulped. "It's a long story, guys."

"We've got time," Cora said shortly.

Zane looked down at the ground far below them. "A-actually, could we go somewhere a little safer? Please? I'm kinda scared of...heights."

I turned to Cora, shrugging. Cora rolled her eyes. "Fine, our house. Take us to our house and start explaining."

"Okay," I complied. "But first..." I pushed the hood over my head and tied the scarf around my face. "There. Ready."

The two refused be carried by their jackets again, so I ended up carrying Cora on my back, with Zane holding onto my leg. It was an awkward situation as we flew above the trees, Zane holding on for dear life, and Cora squeezing my neck for security, making it a little hard to breathe. So, naturally, the two combined made the going a little slow.

But when we reached the edge of the forest, I was shocked to see it surrounded by at least three police cars, with another blue hover-car in the middle of them.

"Um...is that _our_ car?" Cora squeaked.

"Looks like we weren't as stealthy as we thought," Zane mumbled. "Mom probably freaked out when she saw us going into the forest."

"My guess is that's why she called the police," I said, drifting down to the authorities. The policemen immediately brought out their guns, ordering me to stand down.

"Wait, don't shoot!" Cora cried. "He's good! He's good! He saved us!"

I safely landed on the ground, Zane and Cora releasing their hold on me. Their parents ran to them, hugging them tightly.

"What happened?" Mr. Bertrand asked, looking his daughter in the eye. "Why did you go in there?!"

"I-I..." Cora gulped. "Um..."

"We saw one of our friends go in there," Zane said. "Um...we were trying to get him to come back, but we didn't see him in there."

"Huge bear," Cora said. "We saw a huge bear. It would've...killed us..."

"Yeah, but he saved us!" Zane pointed to me, who was standing a few feet away, being given looks from the officers. "That guy saved us!"

"And your friend?" one of the officers asked, concerned.

"I-I got him out, don't worry," I cut in. "Just before I found these two."

A man suddenly ran up to us, panting. "Reporter—for—MetroNews," the man said breathlessly. "I saw the blue light of the robot's rockets! Has anyone seen where the robot went?"

"You're looking right at it," another policeman said, gesturing to me. I gave a small wave. The reporter looked all confused.

"Well, erm, do you mind if I ask you all a few questions?" he asked, taking out a notepad.

It was at least half an hour later before Cora and Zane were finally able to leave. They'd been constantly pestered by the police, and the many reporters that kept coming. I had taken my leave after the first one came, not wanting to stick around any longer than I had to, but I had quietly promised I would tell Cora and Zane everything the next day before I left. The next day was Saturday, and I had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

_Ding, dong!_ I rang the doorbell of Cora's house for the fifth time before I finally got an answer. Betty's bespectacled face poked it's head out the front door.

"Oh, hi, Toby!" she said brightly, having recovered from her strep a few days ago, and was back to her normal, talkative self. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk with Cora and Zane," I said. "Are they here?"

Betty made a duck-face. "They got grounded. Did you hear the news about last night?"

"Um... No, I don't think so..."

"Yeah, so, Cora and Zane go sneaking into MetroPark to find someone, 'cause they saw them sneak in there, but they got lost and nearly got killed by a bear!"

I tried my best to look shocked. "What?! Really?!"

"Yeah, it's all over the news!" Betty said. "But they're okay, because you know that robot from earlier?"

"Yeah?"

"So that robot SAVED them! From the bear!" Betty gave a wide grin. "Can you believe it? I _told_ you that robot was good! Oh, and guess what they're calling him?"

"What?"

"Well, you're probably going to be angry at this, but Cora kind of called him 'Astro Boy' for some reason on the news," she frowned. "So now everyone's calling him that. So now you can't use it for your one superhero character guy."

"Oh...bummer," I said. "Sooo I can't see them right now?"

"Nope, no visitors, with the exception of Mom and Dad. And going to school, of course," she added. "Why, what's the rush?"

"Um, I just promised to tell them something..." I trailed off. "It can wait, though. Um, see you later, I guess."

"Yeah, bye!" Betty waved her hand farewell and closed the front door.

_Great_, I thought. _Now, what?_

_Sneak in, what else? t_hat little voice in my head answered.

I ran back to the side of the house, looking for a drainpipe or something to climb with. I mean, Cora had done it a few nights ago, right? So there must be a way... Ah! I spotted the drainpipe, but it was at the front of the house. I could easily be seen and mistaken for a burglar that way, since it was in the middle of the afternoon. Besides, I didn't know which window to crawl through. Well, so much for _that_ idea.

I stood there, in between our two houses, not too sure what to do. I finally decided to go back to my own house, but before I could take a single step, a "PSSST!" was suddenly heard loud and clear. I looked up to see Cora poking her head out of the window.

"Toby!" she half-whispered, half-yelled. "Up here!"

"Uh, yeah, I see you..." I said.

Cora rolled her eyes. "No, I mean get your _BUTT_ up here!"

"OH, right." I looked around for a drainpipe or a ladder to climb on, but didn't see anything on this side of the house. "Uh...how?"

Cora slapped her head. "DUH. Fly!" she said, exasperated.

I shook my head. "I don't want anyone to see me!" I said.

Cora rolled her eyes again, slumping against the window frame. "Dude, there's no one around," she said. "You can survive doing it once without your mom's scarf." I gave her a little glare before making sure that no one was around except for Cora. Then I launched myself into the air, the blue light swirling around me again; but I went faster than I realized.

BAM! I'd crashed into Cora, and we both flew backwards into her room!

"Oww," Cora groaned.

"Omigosh, are you okay?" I cried, helping her to her feet. "I'm so sorry!"

"Yeah, fine...I think..." Cora rubbed her head. "Just don't do that again, please."

"Sorry, sorry." I found myself blushing a little as we looked at each other. We both burst out laughing at the same time.

"Okay, so, now that you're here..." Cora said, straightening up a bit. I looked around what I assumed was Cora's room. It looked, like everything else in this house from what I remembered, a mess. But who cared? But the thing that I wanted to know was...

"Where's Zane?" I asked. Cora grinned mischievously.

"In the Cavern," she said in a spooky voice.

I raised my eyebrow. "The Cavern?"

"Yup! C'mon, I'll show you!" She ran over to the closet and opened it, then started crawling on her hands and knees. "Follow me!" she said. "But be quiet, I don't want our parents finding out about this."

I quickly ran over to the closet and got on my hands and knees, following Cora. There was a creaking noise from in front of Cora at the back of the closet, and a small door opened in front of her.

"This is the entrance to the Cavern," Cora explained, turning her head to face me. "Only Zane, Betty and I know about this. It was here when we moved in."

"Weird...my house doesn't have secret passage ways," I pouted, crawling in after Cora. "But then again, it's not like we have the same house plan."

"Yeah, my guess is that it was put in for someone's kids or grand-kids." Cora shrugged. "Anyway, hi Zane!"

We had crawled out of a dark tunnel and into a wider room area. It was still super small - not big enough so you couldn't stand up fully - but big enough to fit at least five kids.

Zane was sitting on a bean-bag chair next to a radio-lamp in the middle of the Cavern, a plastic bag of Doritos next to him. He perked up when I came through.

"Oh, hi guys. So." He straightened his position, adjusting it so it was Indian-style. "Have a seat." He gestured to two other bean bags. I crawled over to one of them and sat down. Zane gave a cough.

"So, Toby. Start talking. Now," he said, crossing his arms. "How did you get these powers?"

"Well..." I started explaining about the truck, how it crashed and hit me, and how I'd nearly died and the blue core had saved me.

"Wait, back up - what's Blue Core?" Cora asked confused.

"A top secret project the scientists at the Ministry of Science were hoping to control," I explained. "They were going to release the information soon, but... Anyway, it's pretty much pure, positive, self-sustaining energy that came from space."

"Ah," Zane said. "Okay. Continue."

"Well, I've pretty much explained it all..." I mumbled.

"When did you first realize you had superpowers?" Cora asked, Zane nodding.

"Um, well, when I got beat up by Drake's cronies for not changing their grades," I said. "It...didn't hurt."

"Oh, so you _didn't_ change the grades?" Cora grinned. "Good."

"Why do you say it's a good thing? I just said I got beat up for it!" I frowned.

"But it didn't hurt, right?" Cora said, smiling.

"I...guess not..." I mumbled, not thinking of a good come-back.

"And the whole made-up superhero thing a few days ago - that was for your suit?" Cora asked. "Your super suit?"

"Well, yeah, but I haven't been able to make it or anything." I shrugged. "And it wasn't supposed to be anything special or flashy - I was just planning to look like a ninja or something."

Zane nodded in agreement. "Ninjas are cool," he said.

Cora rolled her eyes. "Is that the smartest thing you could come up with?" she said, exasperated.

"What? I just said that I thought ninjas were cool!" Zane protested.

"Whatever," Cora said, waving him off.

Zane grumbled a little more, crossing his arms huffily. "So you have infinite energy in you?" Zane asked, changing the subject.

I nodded. "Yup, pretty much," I said.

Zane rubbed his chin in thought. "Can you, like, charge things up? Like a battery?"

I blinked, having never really thought about that before. "Umm... I don't know..."

Cora dug something from out of her pocket. "Here, try it with my phone!" she said, handing it to me. "It's super low on batteries!"

I took her phone and stared hard at it. I pointed my finger at it, willing some form of Blue Core energy would come out of my finger and into the phone...but nothing happened.

"Ah, well, we gave it a shot." Zane shrugged. "Looks like Toby isn't a human batt—"

"Uh, Zane?" I said. Blue light was swirling around my hand, wrapping around my finger and spiraling down into the phone. The phone glowed blue for a moment before turning back to normal.

We stared, looking from between the phone and my hand, both of which had stopped glowing.

"Did it work?" Cora asked as I handed her the phone. She turned it on, and excitement shone on her face. "100% charged, baby!" She pumped her fist. "Yeah!"

"You're welcome," I said, grinning. Cora calmed down a bit, smiling.

"Okay..." Zane rubbed his chin. "Now what? We know that Toby is in fact a walking battery..."

"Why don't we help Toby with his costume?" Cora asked. "I mean, I have an idea on how to do that."

"Really? How?" Zane asked, confused. "Go on eBay and buy a ninja outfit?"

"No, you nitwit," Cora said. "Remember Aunt Sandra?"

"You mean the one I can't stand and who always makes irritating noises when she sees me in a t-shirt and jeans, thinking everyone related to her must wear something more fashionable?" Zane replied in a monotone voice.

"Yeah, her," said Cora. "She said that the fashion company she runs has made a sort of thing...it blends with science and fashion, really. It's like, these cuffs and boots you wear, and when you press a certain button, elastic shoots out of the cuffs and boots and suddenly you're wearing whatever clothes you want!"

"Oh yeah, I've heard of that," I said. "They're called 'InstaClothes', I think. But I thought it changed to these two bracelets and smaller shoes. Cuffs and boots are older models."

"Exactly," Cora said. "Aunt Sandra gave us one pair for Christmas one year. It was the first edition - the coolest thing she'd ever done, actually."

"And you think..." I said, "that will work as a ninja outfit?"

Cora nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I mean, the first version was a bodysuit, since the guys who created it hadn't completely figure out how to make actual clothes, so yeah. And we'd never really used it before, since the boots didn't fit any us..."

Zane and I looked at each other. "Life is full of conveniences, isn't it?" he said.

I nodded. "Yup," I said, grinning. "Sure is."

* * *

**Author's Note:** And again, another word from our author, Star!

"Anyway, I'm almost finished writing the whole story, now! :D I'm on possibly the last chapter, actually! ...Would you be disappointed if I told you there's probably only going to be 8 chapters, maybe 9? *hides* Yeah, I know, it's kind of short... Hehe... Sorry about that..."

So leave some reviews! :)


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Hey, back with an update! I hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"They're...they're..." I tried to place my finger on it as I looked at the InstaClothes.

"Awesome?" Zane asked.

"Too big?" Cora said worriedly.

"_Red_," I said, scratching my head. Cora had managed to sneak down to the basement and fetch the InstaClothes—which they had stored down there because they hadn't needed it—without being seen by her parents - her siblings were all outside in the backyard, playing with their nerf guns. She was now back in the Cavern, and showing me the seemly bright red cuffs and boots.

"Well—just try them on and see if they fit, at least," she said. "I don't know what size they are, and like I said, they haven't really been used before, either."

I shrugged. "Okay..." I tugged off my sneaker and grabbed one of the boots, pulling it on. Whaddya know, it fit! I pulled on the other one and stood up - I had to bend over slightly - tapping my feet on the ground. "Kinda comfortable, actually," I said. "Can I see the cuffs?"

"Yeah, sure," Zane said. "But… Um, just so you know…uh, Sludge got a hold of the control-cuff at one point, so the suit is kinda stuck on one color, and we don't know how to fix it," he said guiltily.

I furrowed my eyebrows, taking the cuffs. "Um, which color would that be?" I asked.

Zane scratched his head. "I'll…let you find out for yourself." He gave a silly grin as I rolled my eyes and put on the cuffs. I opened the side of the left cuff, and a small hologram appeared. I clicked the few images I wanted my suit to look like, then pressed 'Clothe'.

I felt like I was being bound with ropes for a moment as the thick wires of elastic covered every inch of me besides my eyes, then it started flattening out, and expanding. When it was done, I looked myself over.

"You've. Got. To. Be. _Kidding_. Me." I said.

Cora slapped her head, groaning. "Oh, man, I totally forgot about that…"

Zane was trying hard not to laugh. "I told you Sludge had messed with it." He smirked.

"Messed with it? Dude, I'm freaking _blue!"_ I cried, gesturing to the elastic on me, which was a bright blue color. "There's no way this is gonna work!"

"Well, at least it matches your Blue Core powers," Cora said, trying to be optimistic. "And you can be a blue ninja! The first of your kind! Plus, you actually look like a superhero more than a rouge ninja."

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. I rubbed my head—then froze, realizing something. "Um…are these…my spikes?" I said, feeling the two spikes on my head. "I thought they were supposed to be flattened when the elastic covered them!"

"I guess you used too much hairspray, then," Zane snickered.

I glared at him. "It's gel. But—this way people will recognize me!"

"Well, turn it off and get rid of the spikes, then," Zane said.

"I thought this was the first edition. The first edition doesn't change at all after it's tried on for the first time," I retorted. "Whatever you wore the first time stays that way."

Zane's eyes widened. "Oh…"

"Well, I think it's cool," said Cora, also standing up. "It gives you…oh, what's the word…? It makes you stand out, I guess. Noticeable. Your trademark, you could say, like the Human Bomb's trade mark is a bomb or whatever. Character, is the word I'm looking for!"

"Yeah, well, it's not like the blue suit gonna be noticeable enough," I said sarcastically. "Or the red boots."

Cora crossed her arms. "Fine, give it back then," she said angrily. "I was trying to be nice and all, giving it to you, but you just don't seem to care, do you?"

"What? No, I—" I put my hands up defensively, trying to be apologetic. "I'm sorry, I've got really big temper…it gets out of hand sometimes. I'm sorry if I was being rude," I said. "And...uh, you know what?"

Cora raised her eyebrow. "What?"

"Um… The, uh, blue doesn't look too bad, now that I think about it," I said, rubbing my head.

Cora grinned. "Told you so," she said smugly.

* * *

Why did tonight have to be so…I don't know…not crime infested?

It was around midnight, and I was sitting on the top of a tall building, listening to the police-scanner/station/whatever the heck you called it. And yes, before you ask, I _was_ wearing the bright blue ninja suit.

_Well, I thought if Galatica can wear bright red and still be good at fighting crime, then so can I, right?_ I gave a sigh as I shook my head.

Suddenly, the police scanner started yammering for back up, saying an escaped criminal was now headed for the Metro Bridge, and getting away in a dark green hover-car, the license plate reading 8O9-0004.

_Here we go_, I thought, excited, and jumped off the building. The blue light swirled around my feet again—an image I was starting to get used to—and I took of like a rocket, towards MetroBridge. I could hear the sirens of the police as they chased the escaped convict.

I saw the dark green hover-car zoom onto the bridge, ramming into other cars as it sped away. If hover-cars were able to go more than a few feet off the ground, like actually _fly_, I'm positive that guy would have already flown away. But this was the real world—that was just science fiction.

_Says the kid who can fly_, I told myself, inwardly grinning. I dove downwards into the bridge, and grabbed the roof of the speeding car.

"Don't you know the speed limit's 65 here?" I called, pulling back on the car, slowing it down. The driver, who hadn't seen or heard me, panicked and tried to speed the car up, but to no avail. I slammed the car to the ground, knocking out it's hover-engines on the bottom of the vehicle. The car gave a dying spurt before shutting down. The escaped criminal bolted out of the car, a crowbar in his hands, and sprinted away down the bridge. I flew over his head and landed a few feet away, just in front of him.

The convict stopped short, eyes wide with terror.

"Late for an appointment or something?" I asked. "Because you sure seem in a rush." The convict narrowed his eyes and let out a cry, swinging the crowbar. It collided with my head, but I hardly even felt it. Nor did I flinch, I just raised my eyebrow. The criminal's face went white as he looked at the completely bent crowbar in his hands.

"Nice try, dude, but my weakness isn't crowbars," I said. "Now sit." I pointed to the ground.

The man shakily went to his hands and knees. "Wh-what are you?" he whimpered.

I shrugged. "Just your average superhero, I guess." I said.

The police pulled up, their sirens blaring. They ran out of their cars and handcuffed the man in front of me. "Who the heck are you supposed to be?" Inspector Tawashi walked up to me, frowning.

"Um…Astro Boy," I said. "Just suited up…in blue… Wasn't my first choice."

"So you're the robot?"

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. "Well, since everyone seems to _think_ I'm a robot, I'll just go ahead and say yes."

Tawashi's frown got deeper. "You sure don't act like a robot…" he mumbled. "Are you Artificially Intelligent?"

"Umm…" I scratched my head, not sure how to reply to that. "I…um, no, I'm Actually Intelligent."

Tawashi blinked in surprise. Maybe I shouldn't have said that…

"WELL, so, nice chat, Inspector," I said, backing away. "But I've got other things to do. Um, good luck with your criminal guy I stopped—see ya." I launched myself into the air before Tawashi could say anything, and flew away from the bridge. I glided back to the tall building I'd been on earlier to find that I'd accidentally left the radio on.

"Oops," I mumbled. "Oh, well, it doesn't matter…"

I stood there, on the ledge of the building, looking at the lights of the city against the dark, cloudy sky. I checked my watch—12:28 a.m. Geez…I was already bored again!

I gave a loud sigh, rubbing my forehead. It was gonna be a long night…

* * *

"Well you're up early for a Sunday morning," my Dad said, walking into the dining room where I was sitting at the table, reading a sports car magazine.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, um, I'm trying to get used to early waking, I guess," I lied.

Dad raised his eyebrows. "I see…" He took a seat next to me, at the head of the table, and Orrin rolled in carrying my breakfast.

"Two slices of buttered toast for Master Toby, sir," Orrin said, setting down my plate. "What can I get for you, Master Tenma?"

"Oh, just a bagel, please," my Dad said, opening up the holo-news paper. He took a small sip of his coffee, then nearly spit it out after reading the front page.

"You okay, Dad?" I asked.

"Y-yes, yes, fine," he said. "Just… I've got to call Dr. Elefun. I'll be right back." He got up from his chair and left the dining room. I took a peek at the front page he'd been looking at and grinned so widely I thought my face would split in half.

'ASTRO BOY CATCHES ESCAPED CRIMINAL—A HERO FOR METRO CITY?' the headlines read. There was a picture of me - in my suit - standing in front of Tawashi, watching the escaped convict being led into a police car. I pumped my fist into the air. YES YES YES!

"…Doesn't make any sense…" I heard my dad saying. I turned around, extending my hearing. I know, I know, you're probably thinking it's bad to eavesdrop, but, erm…moving on.

"Why is that robot saving the city?" my dad was saying.

"I don't know, Tenma," Dr. Elefun said from the phone. "Perhaps there's more to this than we think. Besides, we hardly know anything about the robot in the first place, or why whoever built it stole the Blue Core. We're just coming up with theories at present, Tenma."

"I know, Elefun…" There was another 'BEEP' as another call came through. "Yes?" my dad said.

"Dr. Tenma, urgent call from the Asylum," a rushed voice said. "Stone has escaped, sir!"

"WHAT?!" Dad and Elefun both cried at the same time. "What are you talking about?" Dad yelled.

"It was around midnight last night—I don't know how the alarms didn't sound, but Stone has been out of his cell for at least nine hours, now!"

"Get the police notified immediately," my dad ordered. "Stone could be anywhere right now."

"Yes, sir!"

"Do you think he could be after the Red Core?" Elefun asked Dad.

"Most likely…"

_Stone?_ I thought. _As in Dr. Alexander Stone, the one who was in charge of examining the Red Core? Didn't Dad say he went crazy after being exposed to too much Red Core, and had to be locked up in the insane asylum, which was why they dubbed the Red Core as 'dangerous?'_ I rubbed my chin, frowning. _No alarms… it was around midnight last night… Darn it, I should have been there!_

"Elefun…" I heard my dad say slowly. "Didn't the robot stop that criminal last night at midnight?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well…think about it. That criminal escaped around midnight, and it was probably the exact same time Stone did. The criminal had many of the policemen busy following him, giving Stone the chance to escape unnoticed—and Astro Boy, he probably 'stopped' the criminal to make himself look good, and also keep all the attention off of Stone as he escaped!"

"Tenma, this is a very interesting theory," Elefun said. "But we're not sure if that's what really happened."

"I…have an idea, Elefun," my dad said after a moment of silence. "We know for sure that Stone will be after the Red Core. He couldn't part with it after he went insane—and if he gets his hands on it, then he could infect the entire city!"

"Yes, we very well know that," Elefun said.

"So the only thing to do is destroy the Red Core," Dad exclaimed.

"Tenma, have you forgotten the slight detail that the Blue Core has been _stolen_?" Elefun asked. "Only Blue Core can destroy Red Core!"

"Exactly," said my dad. "We can use the Blue Core from the robot!"

My body went cold, my heart nearly stopped. Wh…what?

"Think about it: we don't know where that robot came from, Stone can easily get past the security since he was the one who designed the Ministry's Security System and get the Red Core: the only option is to destroy the red core and the robot's energy source. And then we can use the robot's memories to track down the rest of the Blue Core! Maybe even charge it back up after reprogramming it or making sure it didn't do any of us harm!"

"But…" Elefun trailed off.

There was silence in Dad's office for a few moments. My heart was pounding, my palms sweaty. They planned to _kill_ me?!

_They don't know you're a robot_, that little voice said again. _You can't blame… Well…you know what I mean._

"We might as well," said Dr. Elefun. "I'll meet you at the Ministry of Science in ten minutes."

"All right." My dad ended the call, then walked out of his office and back into the dining room. "I have to go to the Ministry a little earlier than usual," Dad said, picking up his bagel Orrin had left for him. "Urgent business… Are you feeling all right?"

I jerked out of my trance—I realized my face must have looked a little in shock. "Wha? Oh, um, yeah, fine…" I mumbled, staring at my uneaten toast.

"Really? You look kind of pale…" Dad shook his head. "Anyway, I'm off. See you later, son." He walked out of the dining room, leaving me alone. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Dad, wait!" I called, jumping up. I ran to him as he was putting on his duster in the foyer.

He looked at me. "Can it wait, Toby?" he asked. "I've got urgent business—"

"You can't kill Astro Boy!" I said.

Dad froze, narrowing his eyes. "Were…you listening to my conversation, Toby?" he asked, deadly quiet.

I nodded guiltily. "I-I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but Astro Boy isn't the threat here! He probably didn't even know that Stone escaped last night, and—"

"Toby, that 'Astro Boy' is just a robot," he said. "And we're just going to deplete him of his energy. If he meant no harm, we'll charge him up again, I suppose, but not before making sure he doesn't pose as a threat to Metro City. Besides, it's not all about destroying him, it's also because we're stopping Stone from getting the Red Core."

"You're wrong, Dad!" I said. "You won't deplete him of energy… You'll _kill_ him!"

Dad frowned. "Toby, he's a robot! You can't kill something that wasn't alive in the first place—"

"HE'S NOT A ROBOT!" I shouted.

Dad stared at me as if I had grown two heads. "And how on earth would you know that?" he demanded, crossing his arms.

I gulped, my heart racing faster than before. "Because…because…I…" I swallowed again. "I've…got to show you something…" I rolled up my sleeve, showing the red cuff.

Dad's eyes got wide. "Is that…?" He didn't get to finish as I pressed a button on the side, activating the elastic and letting it cover me with it's thick binds. I waited a few moments after the elastic had settled before looking up at my dad. His face had gone chalk-white, his jaw clenching.

"Because…I'm…Astro Boy," I said slowly. "I'm not a robot, I somehow…absorbed the Blue Core energy. I'm still not sure how I can fly…"

"Impossible… That's impossible…" My Dad pointed a shaky finger at me. "You are _not_ my son!"

I took a step backwards, shocked. "Wh-what—Dad, what are you talking—?"

"ENOUGH!" Dad roared. "I am _not_ your father, you are not Toby—I know your story is false because Blue Core does not affect humans in any way! NOW. WHERE. IS. MY. SON?!"

"I _am_ your son!" I shouted. "Will you just listen to me—?" I stopped when I heard sirens. Dad—he must have pressed the House Emergency button! I stared at my father, tears brimming my eyes. "Dad…" I said. "Why…why do you not believe me? Scan me, if you think I'm lying! I'm HUMAN!"

But Dad wouldn't listen. I saw the emergency-call device in his hand, and I saw the message he'd typed in.

BRING RED CORE.

"No… No!" I ran through the kitchen and out the back door, launching myself into the air. _This is not happening, this is not happening, it CAN'T be happening!_ I thought as I flew. I looked back to my house, and saw it was now surrounded by police cars. I looked away, trying to fight back the tears that kept coming.

_My dad hates me…_ I thought. _He…tried to kill me…_

_He doesn't hate you,_ that little voice in my head tried to tell me. _He just thinks you're an impostor, and that his real son is trapped somewhere or something._

_Oh, great, thanks, that makes me feel SO much better,_ I thought sourly.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Directly from Star herself...here's the A/N!

"Yay, finally got the laptop back! XD  
Ok things you need to know that I forgot to mention before: this is a world where there isn't any AI. Orrin the house-bot isn't like he was in the movie—more just like a droid or something...*shrug*

Btw, I've finally finished the whole story, and actually figured out a sequel for it! Yay! But this series is the only FF of mine I'm going to post on dA, because I have some original ideas for stories that I want to work on, too. :/ :)"

Review!


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Here's the next chapter! Star says there's only one chapter left, and the epilogue, so stay tuned and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

I was sitting on the ledge of a tall building; the same one from before, actually, when I was listening to the police scanner. But now I wasn't listening to any scanner, or radio. Just the sounds of the city, as the people went about their normal lives…going to their jobs, or school… the police coming for _me_.

I was still trying to hold back the tears that kept wanting to come. I felt like such a wimp when I cried, and crying never did solve anything. I'd learned that a long time ago…

I'd taken my suit off when I'd come up here, hoping I wouldn't be spotted as easily. I could just easily leave the city, but…my friends were still here…my mom and—dad.

_How could my father do that to me?_ I asked myself. _I'm his son! Who…he thinks is a robot—Gah, when did my life get so complicated?!_ I thought, scrunching up my face and putting my head in my hands. _Oh, yeah, it was the_ Blue Core! I thought angrily. _I hate the Blue Core… I wish I had never been part of that accident… _

_But why did Dad say that Blue Core doesn't affect people in any way? _I suddenly wondered. _I mean…if Red Core can make someone go crazy, then couldn't Blue Core give someone superpowers? Maybe it was the liquefied form that it was in that gave it the ability to do it…_

"So you're the robot with the Blue Core," an unfamiliar voice behind me suddenly said, interrupting my thoughts. I jumped, whirling around. A sallow-faced man was standing there on the roof, just a few feet away from me.

I narrowed my eyes and stood up. "Who're you?" I asked.

The dark-haired man smiled. "No one," he said. "At least, not to you."

I blinked, confused. _I wonder if he's called the cops about me,_ I thought worriedly. I made a move to jump off the building when suddenly my whole body was wracked with pain.

I screamed, falling over backwards and onto the roof of the building, clutching my chest which felt like it was on fire. The man was holding something red and glowing in his hands, and just by looking at it I knew what it was.

Red Core.

"H-how…how...?"

"How did I get the Red Core?" The man smirked. "How do you think? I stole it. Right from underneath your father's stupid nose." He squatted down next to me, leering. "I know you're not a robot," he said in a low voice. "We both know that…"

"Wh-who are you?" I croaked, trembling from the pain the Core was causing me.

The man chuckled. "Most people know me as Dr. Alexander Stone. And _you_ are obviously Tobio Allen Tenma, otherwise known as 'Astro Boy'."

I narrowed my eyes, but gave out another shriek as another wave of pain washed over me. "What—nhh," I squeezed my eyes shut from the pain. "D-do you want…from me?"

"You?" Stone smirked again. "I don't want anything _from_ you. I want you _dead_. You've somehow absorbed the Blue Core…making you the only one who can destroy my Red Core. Well, since I obviously don't use the Red Core like you use the Blue Core, it seems like I can kill you without suffering any damage myself." He brought out a knife from his pocket and stuck it in front of my face.  
"You see, I believe being so close to the Red Core makes you weak," he leered. "Weak enough…" He made a swiping motion with the knife, and the small blade pierced my cheek. I flinched, feeling a large drop of blood run down my cheek. Stone smiled cruelly. "Just as I thought." He placed the knife in his pocket and grabbed my arm, yanking me to my feet. I could hardly stand up straight, my legs were shaking too much. "I also happen to know that the Red Core is stronger than the Blue," said Stone. "So being near _you_ hardly affects _it_ at all."

I wobbled on my unsteady feet, tears leaking from my eyes. My vision was blurring, every part of my body seeming to be on fire now. Stone let out a maniacal laugh, yanking me further away from the edge of the building. "See? Oh, you're probably wondering why I'm not going to end your life just yet, oh no." He held out the Red Core closer to my chest. It burst a brighter shade of red, and another wave of pain washed over me. I couldn't help crying out again, falling over onto my back. "I'm going to make you suffer," said Stone. "Make you weak until there's hardly any life in you, make you wish you were dead." He looked down at me with steely grey eyes, madness seeming to dance in them. "_Then_ I will kill you."

He grabbed the scruff of my neck and pulled me to my feet again, and dragged me away from the edge of the roof, towards an elevator door that led to the inside of the building. He pushed me through, making me stumble and fall on my knees.

"Get up," he growled. I clenched my fists, my heart beating faster and faster. "I said, get up!" Another burst of Red Core made me screech in agony, but this time I swung my fist around, hoping to hit Stone. Blue light suddenly appeared around my fist as it collided with Stone's chest, and a giant shock wave of blue light exploded around us as Stone went flying backwards, off the roof of the tall building.

I stood there, trembling, my hand still surrounded by that blue light. It was a few moments before I realized what I'd done. I ran to the edge of the building and peeked over, scared of what I would find.

But there was nothing. I whipped my head back and forth, scanning the streets, but I still saw no sign of Stone, or a body, or anything. I looked up, and flinched. The building across the street had a huge hole in it's window… Ooh, boy.

Sirens were suddenly heard, coming closer and closer. I backed away from the edge of the roof and looked back at the hole in the building in front of me.

A red light was starting to glow from it, becoming brighter and brighter with each second. The city floor started trembling, as the whole entire building in front of me started giving off a bright, luminescent red glow from the inside.

I backed up, my heart pounding like crazy. _What the heck is happening?!_ I wanted to scream.

_C-C-R-A-A-A-A-S-S-S-H-H!_

A giant, looming figure with glowing red eyes and seeming to be made from the building itself rose up from the remnants of the structure that I'd thrown Stone into. I could feel the Red Core energy pulsate from the giant like a heartbeat, red light shining in between the metal plates that made up it's skin.

The giant threw back its head and let out a booming laugh that shook the ground. "NOW _THIS_ IS POWER!" the giant said thunderously, admiring his metal hand. He swung his large head to look at me. His ginormous eyes were just a little above my head as I stood on the roof of the building. I gulped.

"HELLO, ASTRO BOY," the monster growled, punching the building I was standing on, making me lose my balance and fall over. I immediately summoned the blue power in me, shooting me up into the sky. "HA! RUN, YOU COWARD!" the giant roared. "RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE!"

I looked down at the giant. He seemed to be getting bigger somehow, spikes starting to grow from his back, and his hands becoming larger. Only then did I notice that metal things were flying to him; beams, poles, cars— everything was being absorbed _into_ him, making him larger!

_He's absorbing the entire city!_ I realized, panicked. I didn't know how he was doing it, but somehow Stone had definitely absorbed the Red Core like I'd done with the Blue Core, but was now somehow absorbing the buildings around him, too! Fear wanted me to high-tail it to a safe place, but I shook my head. _This city needs me_, I thought, trying to calm my fear.

"Who said anything about me running away!?" I shouted down. I raised my sleeve and pressed down on my cuff, wrapping me in my blue suit. I dove downwards, throwing my fist at him. Blue energy swirled around it again, shooting off my hand and hitting the giant between the eyes. The giant's head was thrown backwards and it stumbled a little. By now it was now nearly the size of a five-story building!

Stone grunted. "THAT ALL YOU GOT?" He smirked. He flung his monstrous fist at me, but quick as a wink, I dodged it.

I was much faster than he was, due to my small size. "Nope!" I called. I gave a barrage of energy beams, each hitting it's target. Stone roared in anger, and flung his fist around. This time it slammed into me, hitting me with such a force that I was flung far away from him, and landed near the edge of the city. I slammed into the ground and skidded to a stop, creating a large trench in the asphalt of the road.

"Ow…" I groaned, pushing myself up and rubbing my head, which was throbbing in pain. I flinched in shock as I felt something wet run down my face. I touched it gingerly and looked back at my fingers.

It was blood. Crap. Not good.

I stood up on wobbly legs, but my knees gave out from beneath me and I fell down again.

_"Attention all citizens of Metro City,"_ I heard the emergency evacuation speakers ring, _"You are to evacuate the city immediately. This is not a drill. This is a warning. Evacuate your homes immediately, by order of the Mayor of Metro City!"_

The message was repeated three times before turning silent. I tried standing up again, vertigo making it hard to keep balance. I saw people around me run to their cars or back to their homes, trying to evacuate as quickly as possible.

_Good_, I thought, _good…they're evacuating… _It was becoming hard to think. I'd hit my head pretty hard on the ground…

"TOBY!" I heard a voice yell. I turned and saw Cora and Zane running towards me. Betty was behind them, mouth dropped open.

"Wait—did you say _Toby?!"_ she shrieked as Cora ran up and hugged me.

"Long story, Betty," I mumbled.

"Dude, what happened to your head?!" Zane asked, shocked, seeing the blood running down my face.

"Got hit," I said bluntly. My head was slowly feeling better. It was healing, I realized. The ground suddenly started shaking again. Stone…he was coming. "Listen guys, you've got to get out of here," I ordered. "Evacuate with the rest of the city! Now! GO!"

"But what about you?" Cora asked, eyes wide with terror.

"I'll be fine, I promise, just go! NOW!" I yelled. The three made a break for it, running down the street, Cora giving me one last fleeting look as she ran.

"Will someone just tell me what the heck is _going on_?!" I heard Betty cry to the others.

The ground started shaking harder and harder as Stone got closer. I launched myself into the air, looking for him.

There. By the tallest sky-scraper—oh, no, was he absorbing that, too?!

I shot forwards like a bullet, but he'd already destroyed the sky-scraper. He was now four-times as tall as he used to be. I saw police shooting their guns at the giant, but the bullets just bounced off harmlessly.

Stone swung his fist at the many policemen on the ground, but I intervened. I grabbed the fist and pushed upwards before it could hit the police. But the other hand suddenly snatched me out of the sky!

"NICE TRY, ASTRO BOY," Stone boomed. "BUT YOU DIDN'T TRY HARD ENOUGH." He squeezed his hand, making me scream in pain. I felt like my ribs would be crushed at any second!

Suddenly the giant roared in agony, too, dropping me. I nearly hit the ground before stopping myself just in time. That's when I noticed the blue light wasn't just swirling around my legs, but my whole body as well. _That must have been what made him let go_, I realized. _He's affected by Blue Core just as I am affected by Red Core, now!_ I looked up at the giant, only to by kicked away again by a giant metal foot.

This time, as I was thrown into a tall building, I was slammed into a metal wall and knocked unconscious.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Cliffeehhhh! Here's word from Star!

"Yeah, I know, I got the next chapter uploaded quicker than usual, but I couldn't help myself. I mean, I'm now completely finished with this story (even though I'm not liking how I ended it) so i'm just going to go ahead and post the rest up here. There's 9 chapters in all, counting the epilogue :) Yeah, it's short, but hopefully the sequel will be longer."

Review!


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** And sadly, this story comes to an end... But Star hopes you enjoy the ending! Don't forget, there's an epilogue after! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

The first thing I noticed when I came to was my head, which was pounding like crazy. I sat up, putting a hand to my forehead and looking around blearily.

I was leaning against a wall in the building that I'd been thrown into, a large dent behind me and a broken window in front of me. I tried to stand up, only to gasp in pain and fall over again. My leg felt like it had been cut in half by a blunt ax!

_It must be broken_, I realized, grimacing and clutching my leg in agony. I looked back to the window.

Half the city had been destroyed. Some apartment complexes were on fire, other buildings turned to rubble. How long had I been unconscious?! The sun in the sky told me it hadn't been for very long. It was only the afternoon!

I crawled my way to the window and looked out, searching for giant-sized-red-core-infected Stone. I found him almost instantly, plunging his fist into houses and absorbing all the materials that made up the home. He was now more than twice as big as the time before I'd been knocked out!

I cursed a fowl word under my breath. Things were just getting worse and worse here… I looked at the giant. How was I supposed to beat him? It seemed every time I tried, I just got tossed away, useless! How could I stop him from absorbing the entire city?!

_"Only Blue Core can destroy Red Core!"_ I suddenly remembered Dr. Elefun telling my dad.

_"We can destroy the Red Core if we allow it to come in contact with the robot's Blue Core,"_ my dad had said.

My skin crawled as I realized what I had to do. There wasn't any other way… It had to be done. Otherwise the giant would not only destroy Metro City…but most likely every city, town, or home in the world...maybe even _destroy_ the world!

I stood up straight, ignoring the pain in my leg. My heart was pounding faster than it ever had before… or would again. I took a deep breath through my nose before hurling myself out of the hole in the window. I took off towards the giant, gaining speed. I was going faster than I ever had before…but somehow it was the longest journey I'd ever taken. The giant heard me coming and turned around.

"BACK FOR MORE, EH?" he leered. I gave no reply this time, speeding faster and faster, aiming for the giant's red, glowing chest. Stone realized what I was about to do seconds before it happened. Seconds too late.

I crashed through the metal skin, straight into the heart of the Red Core, which had grown in size like the rest of it's body had. Unimaginable pain engulfed me, but I didn't scream. Instead, I summoned as much Blue Core energy as I possibly could, and let it all out.

Flashes of my past suddenly streamed before my eyes.

—Meeting Betty—

—Cora and I in the office—

—Absorbing the Blue Core—

—Flying for the first time—

—Saving Zane and Cora from the bear—

—Cora, Zane, and I in the cavern—

—Telling my friends to go to a safe place. "But what about you?" Cora asked, eyes wide with terror.

"I'll be fine, I promise, just go! NOW!" I yelled.—

I'd broken that last promise, hadn't I? My last promise…

Two more memories swam before my eyes.

—Mom and Dad playing a game with me when I was little—

Mom…Dad…I wanted to say that I loved them…that I forgave my Dad…

—"Oh, and by the way, the right thing to me also means doing what's right no matter the consequences," Cora said, then left the office for good.—

Cora had taught me that lesson…of what was right. I would miss her.

And with that last burst of energy that I could muster, I let out one more wave of energy before I closed my eyes…and all went black.

* * *

I felt weightless, and calm. Everything was distorted…moving too fast, or too slow. I looked around and below myself… I was above a factory, the roof of which had been torn off by something big. A figure was down there, laying motionless. His once-blue clothes were black and in tatters, his red cuffs missing. The only clothing on him that remained the way they used to be were his red boots.

The boy wasn't breathing. His black hair was messy and caked with dried blood, no longer in the spikes that had defined who he was…

Police sirens came closer to the factory where the boy lay, but a blue car got there long before them. Three kids got out, and ran into the building.

"I saw him fall in here!" I heard one of them say, their voices echoey and slightly distorted. The three of them gasped and froze when they saw the un-moving boy laying there.

"Is that…?" One of them broke off from the group and ran to the boy, falling on her knees and shaking his shoulder. "Toby, wake up! C'mon, wake up! I know you can hear me!"

The other two ran to the girl's side, one of them putting his hand to the still boy's neck.

"He's…dead," the dark-skinned boy whispered, horrified. The girl with braids put a hand to her mouth, shocked. The girl who'd ran to the boy's side first burst into tears.

"NO HE'S NOT!" she shouted. "He promised he would be okay! He PROMISED!"

"Why did he do that?" the girl with braids wondered, her voice thick with sorrow. "Why did he fly himself into that giant robot's chest?"

"I don't know…" the boy said, shaking his head. "But he stopped it at least…"

"Toby?" another voice sounded from the edge of the room. The three turned to see two adults walk slowly into the middle of the factory. The taller man gave a cry and ran to the boy's side.

"Oh, god, Toby, what have I done?!" he cried, cradling the dead boy. "This is all my fault!"

"He sacrificed his life to save the city," the shorter man said soberly. "Tenma…your son was a hero."

"You're Dr. Tenma?" the smaller girl asked. "Can…you…tell me why he did that? Why he—" She broke off, unable to finish the sentence.

"The larger robot was powered by Red Core," Tenma said quietly. "It was negative energy… Toby…somehow absorbed the Blue Core, which is its opposite. Positive energy… And the only way to destroy Red Core is if it comes in contact with Blue Core, but…when that happens…"

"Blue Core dies as well," the darker-skinned boy finished.

Tenma nodded. "He must have realized…it was the only way…" He broke off, tears in his eyes.

The girl with the braids gave a loud sniff. "If there was any Blue Core left...do you think it could save him?" she asked.

Tenma's face was unreadable. "Elefun?" he asked.

Elefun nodded his head. "Since it is self-sustaining energy, I'm sure that even the _tiniest_ amount could bring him back," he said. "But…unfortunately, Toby had absorbed _all_ of the Blue Core. There is none left."

"No…" The smaller girl's eyes widened. "Th-there is some left!" She dug into her pocket and brought out a small phone. "He charged my phone! With Blue Core! We were seeing if he could do stuff like that!"

"You knew about the Blue Core inside of him before?" Tenma asked, shocked.

"Well…we kinda found out," the girl said sheepishly. She held out the phone. "Here. I think this will work."

Tenma took it in his hands and opened up the back, taking out the battery. Then, with bating breath, he placed it over his son's heart. A small stream of blue light fell from the battery and into the boy's chest.

At first, nothing happened, and everyone went silent with disappointment. Then the boy started to glow light blue, small tendrils of light swirling around him, healing his wounds.

I suddenly felt a pull in my own chest, and I was yanked down into the factory below.

* * *

Voices. Too muddled to distinguish what they were saying. My chest felt like it was on fire, and I gave a great gasp, welcoming the cool air that entered my lungs.

I heard shrieks of joy around me, and I opened my eyes to see my father, my friends, and Dr. Elefun all standing over me with happy faces. I blinked. "Um…what's going on?" I mumbled. My eyes suddenly went wide, and I shot up straight. "Did it work?!" I shrieked. "I-is Stone gone?! How am I still alive, was I—?"

"Oi! Calm down!," Zane said. "You'll give yourself a heart attack, and we're not in the mood to see you die again!"

I frowned. "Again?" I asked, confused. "Um…was I…?"

"Dead?" my dad said. "You would be correct to say yes."

My eyes bulged. "Then how the heck am I still alive?" I cried. "Unless—" I looked myself over. "Nope, not a zombie…"

My friends cracked up, earning a half-glare from me. "No, Toby." Cora held out her phone. "This still had Blue Core in it. We were able to bring you back with this!"

I looked at her phone, quiet. Suddenly I remembered looking at them from above the factory. I'd seen them bring me back… Had that been my _soul_ that was looking down at them?! Had I just had a near-death experience?!

"Are you okay, Toby?" my dad asked, worried.

I quickly nodded. "Y-yeah, fine, just…thinking." I said. The police sirens from earlier weren't getting any closer. Had they been coming here in the first place?

"So…I…defeated Stone?" I asked.

Dad raised his eyebrows. "Stone?! You mean—that robot was—"

"Yup," I said. "It was Stone. He…somehow used the Red Core to absorb everything."

"Adaptive Technology," Elefun breathed. "Fascinating…"

"Well, Toby," Dad said, and helped me to my feet. "I doubt we would all be alive if you hadn't." I smiled at my father, and my friends suddenly tackled me, laughing.

It was only then that I noticed that there was hardly any elastic left on me; the rest, I assumed, having been destroyed by the blast created when the Red Core and Blue Core collided. What little of the blue suit remained was blackened and burnt, and happened to be covering me like shorts. My face went beet-red with embarrassment.

"Um…" I rubbed my bare arms. "C-could, um, someone hand me a jacket? Or a shirt, or something?"

"Here." Dad took off his duster and placed it over my shoulders.

I stuck my arms through the sleeves, wrapping the coat tighter around me. "Thanks," I said.

Dad patted my shoulder. "I'm…I'm sorry for not believing you, son," he said. "But I still have no idea how on earth your body absorbed the liquid Blue Core."

I frowned. "How did you find out the truth in the first place?" I asked.

Dad looked apologetic. "After you ran off, I went to the Ministry of Science. Elefun had found a trace on you and had scanned you…only for us to find that you were human. Or—mostly human."

"It certainly gave us quite a shock," Elefun said, chuckling. "Especially your father."

"You can say that again," Dad said, shaking his head.

We were silent for a moment, my friends still crowded around me. The four of us looked at each other, then suddenly burst out in laughter again.

"How do kids always know when to laugh without saying anything?" I heard my dad say.

"So what now?" Cora asked, elbowing on my shoulder.

I shrugged. "I dunno…keep saving the world?" I suggested.

Cora snorted. "Seems like a good start," she said, making me grin.

* * *

**Author's Note:** And now, a word from Star!

"Ugh, terrible ending, terrible ending... Sorry for the terrible ending. Now, this isn't quite the end, yet, there's still the epilogue, and I'll post that soon."

Review!


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

So that's my story. Or—the beginning of it, anyway. But you'll never guess what happened _afterwords_…

My mom and dad - plus the few other scientists who knew about me - thought it would be best to keep the citizens of Metro City believing that 'Astro Boy' was a robot, so they came up with his 'background' to tell everyone to keep me out of the picture.

'Astro Boy' was an artificial intelligence project that the MOS scientists were working on, and the basic design was sort of based off of me, the Minister of Science's son. The giant 'robot' with the Red Core that had attacked the city was originally a new design for a Soldier Drone, but went out of control with this new energy source they later realized was dangerous. I—or Astro—had the good kind of energy that was safe.

Metro City seemed to really like their new hero. People shouted and pointed to me whenever I flew overhead, and waved to me as I waved back at them. I even got to shake hands with the Mayor of Metro City!

I kinda got popular at school, too. I mean, it isn't _every_ day you find out that the robot in charge of saving everyone in the city's design was based off of one of your classmates. Not to mention the fact that you realize he might boost up your grades if you befriend him. So now I've got lots of girls winking at me in the halls - which, to me, is kind of weird because they're older than me - and guys inviting me to football games or baseball practice. Most of them I declined, not particularly interested in those kind of sports—but a few of them I did to, just so Zane wouldn't make fun of me for not knowing how to actually _play_ football or baseball.

All in all, things in life perked up pretty well. I became a superhero, gained three great friends, got a little more popular at school—all in the course of practically a little more than a week! _Crazy_, much?

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention. Sometimes, when I was off-duty as Astro, I couldn't help think back to the very beginning, to that car that had crashed into the MEC truck. The accident that started all of this. The car had been driverless—at first I'd thought the driver had been ejected, but now that I think about it more… Maybe it hadn't been an accident—or maybe I'm just overreacting…

…Or am I?

* * *

**End Author's Note:** *sniff* It's finally over! But! I have some good news!

"Btw, I _have_ decided to make this into a series. But the rest of the stories will be more like episodes, so each one will be a little shorter. More episode-like, I guess, and will be ranging from 1st person (Toby's POV) to 3rd person on some occasions.

The next Episode isn't going to come out any time soon, though, since I have to do much more planning and outlining what's going to happen for this season, and make sure things don't end up too dumb or weird, or convenient or whatever.

And just so everyone knows, I _will_ be trying to include characters from the 80's version and the 2003 version. Possibly even Astro Cat—but I still can't seem to think of a legit way to have him in there. *shrug*

Btw, on an end note, yes I will have Uran/Zoran be introduced in this season, as well as Niki (Astro's love interest). :) But I've decided they won't appear for some time, more toward the end, I guess. But that's all the spoilers I'm going to give you for now. ;) muahaha..."

That was from Star herself! Aren't you glad she'll be continuing this? Oh, and also Star had asked me to make an OST theme song for her series, and I have made one! The link can be found on my profile.


End file.
